Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-03-21

/ facts and generallzations below are made. The
first marriage under the new law was dstn-
gushed. II was celebrated in the Presbyterian
/ Church, on Sunday, April 10, 1864. by Chap
lain D. a. llawley, Sixty. third regiment United
States coored Infantry and lbo happy man who
led off in this new order Of things was a reputed
son OF former Governor Of Virginia, named
/ u llliam Smith. IL was extensively noticed in
/ The papers as marriage in high life"
| Since that time there have been recorded at
/ Ficksburg fourteen hundred and tlty-sx mar
rlages, before the lst of Nov mber. The record
| Is required to show the color, or blood OF the
/ parties united IN marriage, and OF the ptrenis
| OF each, Vi course the color Ol six persons
should DO recorded for each marriage.
/ Out Of lLese fourteen hundred and ffty.six
marriages there were one hundred and sixty.six
] persons who were the children Of one white par
I ent, and three Of them were children OF white
mothers.
| One-third Of all the marriages recorded so far
arc Of parties white or partly white on one side
Or the other. Thu is undoubtedly below the
! truth, owing 10 two reas0ns-One is that slight
admixture OF white blood is almost always set
down as black and the other is preylent un.
Willingness to own any such mixture oil races
when 1t is not quite obvious. Whoever s iamil.
ilar with tle catechlsm oi the people on this
subJsGt, which the instructions require, knows
this to b9 the fact The general fact seems to
! be that the lighter col0re1 mnlattos are rather
! proud Of their white relationship, while the
darker ones are rather unwilling to own it, oI
are ignorant Of it. This ia tie testimony Of the
1 ehaplains, especially of the more sagacio IS.
! ibis feeling of reluctance to answer was more
/ apparent IL the case Of the child en- Of white
mothers. No greater disgrace could attach to i
white woman than this intercourse with negroes.
But the case was widely ditferen, with men. IL
was too common to be very disgraceful.
/ large part OF the marriages recorded, espo
cially az first, were OF those who had lived to-
gether as husband and wiie-perhaps for man y
years. One old man at Memphis was married
with several others, one morning. No sooner
was the ceremony completed than he turned and
tenderly embraced and kissed his now legal wife
with evident Thanksgiving that she was now in
the eye Of the Law and Of civilization, as she
had long been in the eye Of God, his own recog-
nzed Tile.
One old man. Of almos. threescoro aud ten
was thus Joined in lawful marriage to his ven-
cradle WIFE, At the conclusion Of the ceremony Y
when the chaplain extended his hand with tb G
nuptlal b9nedictl0n and dismissed them, as was
the cus,om, in a short prayer, they both dropped
on their knees together their eyes streaming
with tears Of thankfnlness, and at the close,
still kneellng, the old man reached out both
arms and hugged her 10 his heart, saying aloud,
My dear old woman, bless God that | can
now for the first time kiss my own lawful wife. =
One illustration of the cruelty of slavery is
found 10 the fact that in nearly one-third Of al
The cases recorded one Of the parties had been
separated from former mate " by force OF
these one thousand four hundred and ffty.siK
marriages, five hundred and itty-two persons
answered that they hae been MARI ed before, and
mad been sold away or driven away from those
who had sustained to them The dearest relation
OF life. Of these former marriages, thus yirtu-
ally disrupted, there were born one thousand
and seyenty-seven children and who shall
measure the sorrows OF fathers and mothers
thus torn away from their own flesh and blood
or of the children, by this accursed traffic be-
reit of parents, and left to the nurture Of those
who cared for them as simple prOperty7 This
makes no account OF the children sold from
parents, but only OF parents eold from children.
One chaplain married Is couples one evening
after 5 O'Clock, at Davis Bend Among these
Sc were l3 PERSONS who had been separated from
husbands or wives by force, ana these l3 per
sons were parents Of 81 children by lormsr con-
nections thus violently sundered
There have seemed to be tides in this mari
monial sea One chaplain married l02 couples
in one day, which shows to what perfection art
may attain, with sufficient practice. He would
be " well-to-do in the world" II northern no.
lions OF marriage fees prevailed. Unhappily
for the chaplains, they do not. One received a
silver dime lor marrying a couple. Several
times the persons have been presented with u
dime postal currency, and halt dime has been
glTea as a marriage fee. But the strangest OF
all was one from u company of eleven couples
married at once. A bride, more thoughtful
than her evidently worser half, came up to the
chaplain and said that she "had not much TO
give, Out begged him to accept small token Of
interest in what had been done for her and her
family and handed bin a sweet potato lie
received 1t and thanked her politely, and was
much pleased with this evidence OF her appre-
citation OF the service
The Oldest person married was So years old.
lie brought to the altar an elderly young wo
man Of sos years younger than himself
One man OF 80 married a woman OF 40. The
greatest dlsE arlty OF ages was 40 years. ANA
ture gentleman OF 66 united to himself glrl OF
20. She made sure Of getting man old enough
to be respected. Three white men married col
ored women. One old slave-trade married u
handsome quadroon whom he had bought for
IS 600, and had been offered $1,000 ior.-Ers-
ning Pest