Mrs. Lawson, in her fashionable laces, was obviously a free woman of color. Prior also painted a portrait of her husband. Free people of color have lived in America since earl colonial days. By 1810 they amounted to 9% of the Southern population. Experiences varied with the era and with the country's cultures, but too many were burdened with racial prejudice. In 1785, an ironic North Carolina law required free blacks to register with town governments and to wear a mandatory shoulder path emblazoned "Free". In the years before the Civil War, life became increasingly difficult as some states, even the so-called free states, outlawed free blacks within their borders. By 1850, Missouri, Ark. and Delaware were the only Southern states to permit manumission (slaveholders freeing their slaves.) These 3 states allowed the manumitted people to remain. However, 10.. (Facts & Fabrications-Unraveling the History of Quilts & Slavery: 8 Projects ... by Barbara Brackman; found on Google Books.)