03/30/2021
Registrar N.M. Harrison, Jr. labeled Lamar Lynch, son of Saponi Indian leader T.P. Lynch, as “Negro” on his draft registration card, while R.L. Capps registered Alphonso Richardson, son of Saponi Indian Alfred Richardson, Jr. as an “African.” In some cases, Indians known to be literate signed their cards with an “x,” indicating that perhaps the registrar filled out the cards for them, giving them no opportunity to declare their identity accurately. Alphonso Richardson could certainly read and write in 1900, and Emanuel Richardson, classified as an “African” on his card, was a schoolteacher.
In fact, when Meadows [Saponi] Indians were classified as Indians in official records, they likely insisted on it and in many cases were living outside of their home territory. In 1900 the families of Alfred Richardson, Jr. and his son Alex W. Richardson, who lived next door, were listed as Indian on the census in Nash County, North Carolina. The bold marks on the “race” column suggest that the Richardsons demanded that their racial label be changed, perhaps from “Negro” to “Indian.” In 1910, the households of Hardy Richardson, Gordon Solomon Hedgepeth, and Joseph C. Boone, were all listed as Indian in Warren County, North Carolina, but the majority of Meadows [Saponi] Indians were not labeled that way. Meanwhile, county officials did agree to classify a few American Indians as Indians on their death certificates. The death certificate of outspoken Indian leader Alfred Richardson, Jr. listed his race as Indian; the recorded informant was his son, Raymond, who made sure his father’s race was recorded correctly. Most American Indians were called “colored” or “Negro” on their death certificates, perhaps because the public official did not ask, or faithfully record, the information provided by family members. Other Meadows Indians may have simply avoided the confrontation entailed in correcting their race and allowed themselves to be classified as non-native.
