Milford chronicle., 1930-01-03
Archives Commission Reprints
An Interesting Essay On "7he
So-CaZZed Moors Of DeLaware'

of that day in stature, beauty and
intelligence.
"The tradition described her as
having a magnificent complexion, or,
as Lydia termed it, a rose and lily
complexion, large and dark eyes
and luxuriant hair of the most beau
tiful shade, usually called light au-
burn. After she had been living in
Angola Neck quite a number of
years, a SLAYER was driven into
Lewes Greek, then tolerable fair
harbor, and was there, weather.
bound for several days.
"It was lawful then, for these
were colonial times, to import
slaves from Africa, Queen Elizabeth,
to crafty her friend and favorite,
Sir John Hawkins, had so made it
lawful more than century prior to
this time. Miss or Mrs. Regua, hav-
ing heard of the presence of the
SLAYER in the harbor, and having
lost one of her men slaves, went to
Lewes, and to replace him, purchas-
ed another from the slave ship.
"She selected a very tall, shapely
and muscular young fellow of dark
giner-bread color, who claimed to be
a prince of chief of one of the
tribes of the Congo River which
had been overpOwered in a war with
a neighboring tribe and nearly all
slain or made prisoners and sold in
to perpetual slavery.
"This young man had been living
with his mistress but a few months
when they were duly married and,
as Lydia told the court and jury, |
they reared quite a large family of |
children, who as they grew up were
not permitted to associate and inter-
marry with their neighbors of pure
Caucasian blood, nor were they dis
posed to seek associations or alli-
ance with the negro race; so that
they were so necessarily compelled
to associate and intermarry with the
remnant of the Nanticoke tribe of
Indians who still fingered in their
old habitations for many years af-
ter the great body of the tribe had
been removed further toward the
setting sun.
"This race of people were for the
first two or three generations con-
fined principally to the southeastern
portion of Sussex county and more
in the neighborhood of
Lewes, MilIsboro, Georgetown and
Milton, but during the last sixty or
seventy years they have increased
he area of their settlement very
and now are to be found
n almost every hundred in each
county of the State, but mostly in
sussex and Kent.
"t1om their 1rsc origin to the
}! esent time they have continued to
eg; gate themselves from the Am
rican citizens of African descent,
laving their own churches and
chools as much as practicable.
with very rare exceptions these
,eople make good citizens. They are s
lmost entirely given up to agricul- t
ural pursuits, but they have man s
ged to pick up sufficient knowledge
f carpentry, and masonry to enable t
hem to build their own homes. They a
re industrious, frugal, thrifty, law
hiding and respectful.
During my long practice at the r
ar I have never known but two in S
tances in which one of the race has d
cen brought into court for violation n
f the law. One of these was the F
ase of Sockum, tried in Sussex in F
957, and the other was that of Cor
elius Hanson, of Milford Hundred, h
led at Dover in 1888 or 1889. is
"Sockum's case originated in the r,
rivate spite of envious Caucasian
and Hanson in the envy F
nd malice of one of his neighbors ii
no charged him with an attempt to A
,mmit murder by shooting his ac-
lser. I defended Hanson against 81
.e charge and it was shown by the e1
stimony of several of the most re- ST
,ectable men in the vicinity that
ansor was a man of exemplary q
for peace and good order, Y
truthful and estimable Christian,
Id that instead of being the ag- h;
'essor his accuser was shown to bC
I'VE attempted to shoot Hanson. da
"Such was the opinion of the jur- al
S who tried the case. I suggested So
Hanson that he had better go be-
re the grand jury at the next term B,
court and make complaint against da
5 prosecutor. But he replied: an
18th thanks to you for your advice
d my acquittal, I most respectful Pl
decline, as the Good Book teaches wi
to pray for those who despiteful- st
use and prosecute us; and shall
I'VE Mr.. Loper to God and his con- SD
Ience, praying myself that he may fa
come a more peaceable man and stl
ristian.'
Some years ago, I received a note at
IN a lady in Philadelphia stating
1t she had heard of the trial of &c
win Sockum, and that it had de- no
.oped the origin of the yellow peo- wi
!, the so-called Moors of Delaware
requesting me to give an ac- to1
INT of it, which I did. In her let sp
thanking me for it she gave me wi
, following story: H.
Mrs. =, whom you mention
a New Jersey lady, was an Eng =
b woman by birth, highly con-
tied, of refined associations and
1erbly educated. AS young girl V
, fed from her friends whom she 3