I am not researching this family but have stumbled onto some amazing information on them, so am posting it and am happy to share if it is of interest to anyone! I found a document in a small book that records the court-ordered examination of Jemima, a free woman of color, born to a free white woman, Betsy Waring, in Rockingham County Virginia (about 1795). Jemima is of mixed race, married to Peter Stroud, living in Christian County KY in "Christian County,Kentucky, County court Order Book K, Pages 364-365, May 6, 1850". It appears the court has been asked to describe completely Jemima and her family, probably to prove at the time and in the future that they are not slaves. Her husband Peter is a free black man and they have 5 children that are described in detail, with birthdates: Joseph Wesley ("Westley") 27 sep 1821; Jerry James, 7 June 1823; Elizabeth Ann ("Betty") 3 Jan 1829; Lucinda ("Lucy") 25 Feb 1831 and Sarah Parthena ("Sally") 1 Feb. 1833. The children are all described carefully. Jemima's color is noted as dingy mulatto with light brown eyes. The childrens' color is noted as tawny/copper, and the girls are described as "likely" which means they were probably quite beautiful. Fascinated by this document, I followed up and found that Peter Stroud was one of the first Methodist ministers licensed to preach in Christian County, around 1838 and that his license was renewed many times. In the document above, it describes Peter as "long resident of this county", not as a slave - it has a sound of respect to it, especially for that time. I have not yet found more on this family, except for the 1850 census in Christian County, where the above nicknames were taken from (of value if searching for them). I also found Lucy Stroud, in 1870, working as a domestic servant in Paducah, KY. I am happy to share any of this information to anyone who is interested. I have a photograph of the court record above, and am happy to send it to you. Gwen