Dominickers

The Dominickers were a small biracial or triracial ethnic group that was once centered in the county of, in a corner of the southern part of the county west of the , near the town of. The group was classified as one of the "reputed Indian-White-Negro racial isolates of the Eastern United States" by the in 1950.

Few facts are known about their origins, and little has been published about this group; however, there are some sources from which information can be gleaned.

First mention and origins
The first known mention in print of the Dominickers' existence is an article in Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State, published by the in 1939. The article "Ponce de Leon" identifies the Dominickers as being descendants of the widow of a pre- plantation owner and one of her black slaves, by whom she had five children. (A separate oral tradition has it that the slave was actually the half-brother of the woman's deceased husband, but this has not been verified.)

The unsigned article states that numerous descendants still lived in the area at the time of writing, and their children attended a school (as required by Florida's ). Dominickers were not accepted as social equals by the white community, but they did not associate with the black community, either. Thus, the Dominickers formed a small middle layer of Holmes County society separate from both whites and blacks (somewhat analogous to the status of ), a rare thing in the black/white social dichotomy of the rural before the  of the postwar period.

According to the article, their appearance varied from very fair (white) to "Negroid" (black), even among the siblings of a single family. It also says the nickname "Dominickers" originated when a local man in a divorce case described his estranged wife as "black and white, like an old ." Another account says the description applied to the man with whom she was living.

Further sources
Two unpublished typescripts prepared for the Florida guidebook, but not included in it, are now archived at the  library in, and were probably the sources for the published article. Even more so than the published article, these are generally derogatory of the Dominickers, reflecting the attitudes of local whites at the time, and on that account are perhaps not to be taken too literally.

These typescripts go into further detail than the published article on the appearance and behavior of the Dominickers, calling them as "sensitive, treacherous, and vindictive" and "pathetically ignorant." The men are described as "big and burly looking," known for their skill at breaking horses and making whiskey. The women, however, are much less kindly described as "low in stature, fat, and shapeless," wearing loose clothing and going all the time.

One article notes that Dominickers were "treated with the same courtesy that a Negro receives--never served at a public fountain nor introduced to a white person." A few Dominicker children were allowed to attend the white high school in, but they were "never allowed to actually graduate."

In contrast to these descriptions, photographs of known Dominickers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries show that their appearance ranged from fair-complected to swarthy, but not "Negroid," as claimed; the women, especially, seem to have had an olive-skinned, wavy-haired "Mediterranean" look. Indeed, one scholarly writer, a native of the area, states, "Most of these people are Spanish or Cuban in appearance."

Native American ancestry
The typescripts give five different accounts of the Dominickers' origins, which are said to include ancestors, suggesting there were originally several distinct mixed-race families in the area in various combinations of white, black, and Indian blood, descendants of whom intermarried, all of them eventually being considered Dominickers. One typescript states firmly that "they are about three-fourths and one-eighth  and one-eighth ."

For example, one story that can be pieced together from the typescripts as well as from some more reliable published sources, says that Jim Crow (no connection with the segregation laws called by that name), an "Indian prince," son of Chief  of the local, married Harriet, a beautiful, "more than two-thirds white" house servant belonging to a local white family; they produced a daughter, Eliza. When the Euchees migrated to southern Florida in 1832, shortly after Sam Story's death, Harriet (who may have been her owner's daughter) and the baby stayed behind with the white family. When Eliza grew up, she married a "" (mulatto) named Jim Harris, son of a slave belonging to another white family. Their daughter, Lovey, eventually married another "yellow boy" and had a large family of good-looking children, who "married into another half-breed family." It is also said that other Euchees besides Jim Crow left many descendants (presumably mixed-race) in the area.

Census records
Federal censuses of and the adjacent counties of  and  dating back to 1850 list many Dominicker families and individuals, variously identified as, , and  (even among members of the same family), the designation for a given individual often changing from one census to the next. Despite their status, the census records show that in the decades following the  many Dominickers married into white families, thus making it difficult for researchers today to determine precise boundaries for inclusion in the Dominicker group.

The 1950 federal census instructed enumerators to make note of local populations of mixed white, black, and Indian ancestry in the eastern United States. In, , and nowhere else, 60 Dominickers were so counted; they were designated as white on the census. However, it can be established from earlier census records that known Dominicker families had produced several hundred descendants over the past century, though most of them were not living in the so-called Dominicker settlement of Holmes County by the time of the 1950 census.

In 1956, a worker, who had tabulated the 1950 census findings, made a brief visit to the area and interviewed some white residents, but was unable to make contact with any Dominickers, said to number about 40 at that time. His field notes indicate that at least one Dominicker claimed to be of Spanish and Indian descent. He also noted that "the term Dominicker is not acceptable to the group and is not used in their presence."

Dispersal and Assimilation
At some point in the 1960s, the school in Ponce de Leon was closed, and students were integrated into the other local public schools. Some descendants of the Dominicker group still live in the area, but since World War II, many have scattered to other parts of the country. Although some racial stigma may still be felt, those remaining in and nearby localities have quietly assimilated into the white community, and there is no organized affiliation of Dominicker descendants.

Since there are no longer any Florida laws requiring or  it is an academic question at this point as to who could be considered a Dominicker, especially after several generations of intermarriage between whites and Dominickers in the area, which has tended to cancel any differences in appearance.

Similar groups in the region
The Dominickers are sometimes given a brief mention in sources discussing people, a controversial term which is subject to wide debate; however, there is no known link between the Dominickers and any other mixed-race group, such as the also little-known  of  and  counties in Alabama (not to be confused with the famous  of Lousisiana) and the  of  and  counties in Florida.

Interestingly, some sources claim that about 1857, over 100 mixed-race families migrated by wagon train from Holmes County to and  parishes in Louisiana, where they became part of the people known as. The are well known in southwestern Louisiana, though their origins are still debated. A few links by marriage between members of that group and relatives of the Holmes County Dominickers are known, but there is no evidence at this time to suggest a common origin for the two groups.

Many families in the area claim Native American descent, especially from the  Indians, a nation with whom the  were once affiliated. The local Choctawhatchee Creeks are organized and said to be seeking state recognition.

Background readings

 * Daniel J. Sharfstein, “The Secret History of Race in the United States.” Yale Law Journal, Volume 112, Number 6, March 2003.


 * Direct link to the full text of the essay (PDF format; requires Adobe Reader):


 * Frank W. Sweet, Backintyme: History of the U. S. Color Line, Backintyme Publishing
 * “Antebellum Louisiana and Alabama: Two Color Lines, Three Endogamous Groups,” October 15, 2004
 * “The Antebellum South Rejects the One-Drop Rule,” November 15, 2004
 * “The One-Drop Rule Arrives in the Postbellum Lower South,” October 1, 2005