The Invisible Line by Daniel J. Sharfstein

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    Published by the Penguin Group
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    First published in 2011 by The Penguin Press,
    a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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Copyright © Daniel J. Sharfstein, 2011 All rights reserved
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    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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    Sharfstein, Daniel J.
    The invisible line : three American families and the secret journey from Black to white / Daniel J.
    Sharfstein
    p. cm.
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    eISBN : 978-1-101-47580-5
    1. Racially mixed people—Race identity—United States—Case studies. 2. Miscegenation—Social aspects—United States—Case studies. 3. Passing (Identity)—United States—Case studies. 4. Race—Social aspects—United States—Case studies. 5. Race awareness—United States—Case studies. 6. United States—Race relations—Case studies. 7. Gibson family 8. Spencer family. 9. Wall family. I. Title.
    E184.A1S5724 2011
    305.800973—dc21
    2010029647
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For Ann

AUTHOR’S NOTE
    The Invisible Line is a work of history. It tells the stories of real people who left traces of their lives in census and military records, wills and property deeds, the occasional memoir, and stories in the back pages of newspapers. In the course of my research, I drew upon the resources of courthouses, manuscript libraries, government archives, and private collections in eighteen states and the District of Columbia. I found that I was able to reconstruct the lives and worlds of the book’s main figures in considerable detail—their neighborhoods down to the siding on the homes, the day-to-day routines of their jobs, even the size of the collars they wore on their shirts. Above all, their individual characters emerged with remarkable clarity in private letters, newspaper interviews, and testimony in court and before Congress.
    Many of the people I chronicle left behind a voluminous record of their thoughts, aspirations, and agonies. To convey the richness of their stories, I have written the book from their perspectives whenever possible. I have set scenes and described individuals and places as clearly and vividly as the sources allow, consistent with what I know about the time, locations, people, and