Milford chronicle., 1923-01-05
THE DELAWARE 'MOORsy

THE DELAWARE "MOOKSH
When I was a boy and young man,
the general impression prevailing in
the several parts of this State where
this race of people had settled was
that they had sprung from some Span
ish Moors who, by chance, had drifted
from the southern coast Of Spain,
prior to the Revolutionary War, and
settled at various points on the At
lantic Coast of the British colonies;
but exactly where and when, nobody
could tell. This story of their genesis
seemed to have originated with, or at
any rate, was adopted by the late Chief
Justice Thomas Clayton, whose great
learning and research gave semblance
of authority to it, and, like almost eY-
erybody else, accepted it as the true
one for many years, although my fa-
ther, who was born and reared in that
portion of Sussex county where these
people were more numerous than in
any other part of the State, always in
sisted that they were an admixture OF
Indian, Negro and white man, fand,
gave his reason therefor-that he had
always so understood from Noke Nor
wood, whom / knew when was a
small boy Noke lived, away. back in
the 20's, in a small shanty, long since
removed, situated near what has been.
known for more than a century as
Sand Tavern Lane, on the west side
of the public road and nearly IN front
of the farmhouse now owned by Hon.
Jonathan S. Willis, our able and pop
ular Representative in Congress.
well remember with what awe l con-
templated his gigantic form when
first beheld him. My father had known
him as boy, and I never passed his
cabin without stopping. He was a
dark, copper-colored man, about six
feet and half in height, of splendid
proportions, perfectly straight, coal
black hair Though at least 75 years
old, black eyes and high cheek bones.
When 1 became Attorney General of
the State it fell to my lot to investi-
gate the pedigree of this strange peo-
pie, among whom was Norwood. At
that day Norwood was held in great
reverence as being one Of the Oldest
of his race. This I learned from my ia
ther, who knew him for many years,
when they both lived in the neighbor-
hood of LeWes, in Sussex county. l
have spoken of this race as strange
people, because I have known some
families among them all of whose
children possessed the features, hair
and eyes of the pure Caucasian, while
in other families the children would
all be exceedingly swarthy in CONF
plexion but with perfectly straight !
black hair, and occasionally a family
whose children ranged through near
ly the entire racial gamut, from the I
perfect blond to at least a quadronn /
mulatto, and quite number who pos
sessed all the appearance of red
haired, freckleface Hibernian. My in
vestigation of their genealogy came
about in the trial Of a Levin Sockum,
one of the race, upon an Indictment
found by the grand jury of Sussex
county against him for selling ammu-
milton to Isaiah Harmon, one of the
same race, who was alleged in the in
dictment to be a free mulattO. The
indictment was framed under the 9Th
Section of Chapter 81, of the Revised
Statutes of the State Of Delaware, Edi-
tion Of 1852, page 145, which reads in
this wise:
eff any person shall sell or loan any
firearms to any Negro or MulattO, he
shall be deemed guilty of a misde-
meanor, and shall be fined twenty dol
ars."
The proof of the sale of a quarter Of
! pound of powder and pound of
shot to Harmon was given by Harmon
and, in fact, admitted by {
Sockum's attorney. So that the only
,act I had to establish, in order to
convict Sockum, was to identify Har-
non as being a mulatto, and to do this
had to establish my proof, by MEM
Der of his family, HarmOn's pedigree.
TO do this, Lydia Clark, who sWore !
hat she was of blood kin to Harmon, 7
vas permitted to testify as to the tra- !
litions of the family in respect to J
heir origin. Harmon was a young
nan, apparently about five and twenty Z
vears of age, of perfect Caucasian fea- q
ures, dark chestnut brown hair, rosy !
cheeks and hazel eyes; and in max
ng comparison of his complexion with
Dthers, I concluded that of all the e
nen concerned in the trial he was the !
most perfect type Of the pure Cau- Z
asian, and by odds the handsomest
nan in the court room, and vet he Q
vas alleged to be a mulatto The wit I
lesss Lydia Clark, his kinswoman, q
hen 81 years old though only half L
reed, was almost as perfect type of +
he Indian as I ever saw. She was as K
pry as young girl in her movements i
nd of intelligence as bright as a new +
Ollar; and this was substantially the v
genealogical tradition she gave of her :
amily and that of Harmon: U
About fifteen or twenty years before Il
be Revolutionary War, which she p
aid broke out when she was a little r
irl some five or six years old, there s
7as a lady of Irish birth living on a
arm in Indian River Hundred, a few k
lilies distant from Lewes, which she "
wned and carried on herself. Nobody g
ppeared to know anything of her his o.
Try or her antecedents. Her name 81
ne gave as Regua, and she was child 81
ss, but whether maid or widow, or eC
wife astray, she never disclosed to re
lyone. She was much above the aY- G
age woman of that day in stature, 81
,auty and intelligence. The tradition m
,scribed her as having magnificent
,mplexion, or, as Lydia termed it, a
'se and lily complexion, large and
Lrk blue eyes and luxurant hair Of o.
e most beautiful shade, usually call 81