@Cherryblossom It certainly seems like the options are narrowing down more and more for sure - I guess you may be right that once my father was born he might have been whisked off quickly to my grandfather to look after - I've no idea what a hospital would do in that situation though, but then again I don't suppose back in 1958 everyone had to be born in hospital - I'm also just wondering if that is what happened what there actually is written on my father's birth certificate as far as his mother is concerned - that is a document he's probably got here. I'll be seeing my father at the weekend so I'm going to ask him then - just hope he knows the full story - if not like you say I'm going to have to enquire from my family back in the States.
Yes, many babies, White and Black, were delivered at home by a mid-wife back then....depending on their availability to a hospital and money. However, in the case of a White woman delivering a half-Black baby at a White hospital back then is also another issue. But, yes, your father's birth certificate will tell where he was born and will probably list his "RACE" as well. (You know, since he had a "touch of the tar brush") During slavery and long after, if a BLACK WOMAN had a half-White child, the "RACE" of the child, automatically, followed the race of the mother. But, that may not have applied to your White grandmother with her half-Black baby. On U.S. birth certificates, the race classification has changed over the years....They used to say: "COLORED" and "NEGRO" and "BLACK." Many OLDER/ELDER African Americans have "COLORED" listed on their birth certificates; and younger ones have "Negro" or "Black." I have a brother who was born in 1958 in GA (like your father) and his birth certificate said "NEGRO."
@Cherryblossom That birth certificate stuff is interesting, cause on mine its got my parents' race written on it but not mine - I wonder if they changed things recently or if its just different in Texas to what it is in Georgia?
Well, in the U.S., there are 2 types of birth certificates: the LONG Form and the SHORT form. The "Long Form" has more information on it....while the "Short form" has less. What is your father's race listed as ON YOUR birth certificate? And what does your mother's race say on YOUR birth certificate? It could have been that TX didn't know WHAT to put down for YOU given the racial "cocktail" of your parents. Maybe they thought, "When in doubt, leave it out!" But, it's also possible they ASKED your parents what "race" they wanted on your birth certificate.
@Cherryblossom On mine my father is down as black and my mother is down as caucasian which suggests I'm 1/2 black, not 1/4, so those things aren't like really accurate - just I guess they wouldn't put mulatto down for my father's race - that's probably not one of the acceptable choices or whatever.