This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/0FVBAEB/203.5.2.1 Message Board Post: I'm am the grandson of Erskine Wages, a fine Christian gentleman who spoke frequently of having black Dutch heritage. I always wondered about Indian ancestry in the Wages family, many of whom, including Erskine, tended to have these finely chiseled Latin-type features. My grandfather, however, always insisted that black Dutch reflected a dark-complexioned Dutch ancestry. (Indeed, he spoke often of being a "square-jawed Dutchman.") Some genealogists have argued that Black Dutch should be taken entirely on face value, since Spain once controlled Holland. There indeed are plenty of dark-complexioned Netherlanders whose features reflect the Moorish background of their Spanish forebears. Several other theories, have been posited to explain this term --- one being that it implies German natives of the Black Forest, with Black Deutsch corrupted into Black Dutch. One thing I will stress, though: My grandfather, being from the old school, hotly denied Indian ancestry. He pointed out a time or two that his beloved mother, Molly, was kidded about being a "squaw" by some of the other members of the family, but Indian connection was purely that -- the product of light-hearted kidding. One other point worth making: Roberts is a Welsh name, and the darkness in the family may be attributed to Welsh ancestry. Looking at pictures of the Roberts clan, I'm struck by the Welsh features --- dark, protruding brows, intense eyes, somewhat stocky builds, all of which are associated with the Welsh. Anyway, happened to stumble onto this and thought I'd point it out. Warm regards, Jim Langcuster Auburn, Alabama