Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-03-16
DAILY LEADER.
statistics Of HarEiase Among me

Freedmen.
The New Yokk Epeni1g Post has an able
article on this subject from which We ex-
tract as follows
The law Of marriage was given TO the
freed people by the Secretary of War, in
Special Order No. Is, Issued by Brigadier
General L. Thomas, AdjutaRt General
United States Army, dated Nstchez, Miss,
March %, 1864 By this order, the entire
supervision of this matter was committed.
for the Department of the Tennessee and
State Of Arkansas, TO Colonel John Eaton,
Jr., the general superintendent for freed-
men, who authorized ordained ministers,
who seemed unobjectionsble, to s6lemnize
the marriage of this people, and instructed
them in the manner Of it, and also prescrib-
ed that returns should be made upon care
full examination of each case. j
These returns were to bs3nsde matter
of permanent record, to BE- Yept for public
inspection in the Office of post superintend-
ent, and neat certificate of the marriage
was TO be issued TO the parties joined IN
these sacred rites.
From this record kept by the post super
iRtsndenI at VieksbuIg, Captain j. Il.
Weber, the facts and concentrations below
are made. The first marriage under the
new law was distinguished. It was cele.
bFated in the Prdsbyterian Church, on Sun
day, April 10th, 1864, by Chaplain j. A.
Bawley, SD United States colored infsn-
try, and the happy man who led of'in this
new order of things was q reputed son of
former Governor of Virginia, named VIM.
Smith, It was extensively noticed in the
papers as ''msrrisge in high life" s
Since that time there have been record
ed at Vicksburg fourteen hundred and
ffty-six marriages, before the 1st of Nov
ember. The record is required TO show the
color, or blood of the parties united in
marriage, and Of the parents of each of
course the color Of six persons should be
recorded for each marriage.
Out of these fourteen hundred and fifty
six marriages there were one hundred and
sixty-siI persons who were the children Of
one white parent, and three of them we're
children Of white mothers.
0ne-third of all the marrisges recorded
SO far are of parties white or partly white
on one side or the other. This. is undoubt-
edly below the truth, owing tStYo reasons
-one is that slight admixture of white
blood is almost always set down as
black, and the other is prevalent unwil-
liLgness to own any such mixture of races,
when it is not quite obvious. Whoever
is familiar with the catechism of the peo-
pie on this subject which the Instructions
require, knows this 70 be the fact. The |
general fact seems to be that the lighter |
colored mulsttoes are rather proud of their |
white relationship, while the darker ones |
are rather unwilling to own It, or are igno- |
rant of it, This is the testimony of the |
chaplsins, especial of the more ssgscious. |
This feeling Of reluctance to answer was |
more apparent in the case of the children |
Of white mothers. No greater disgrace
could attach to q white woman than this |
intercourse with negroes. But the case
was widely different with men. Il was too
common 10 be very disgraceful.
A large part of the marriages recorded,
at first we're of those who had
lived together as husband and wife, per-
hsps for many years.
One old man, of almost threescore and
.en, was thus jeined in lawful marriage TO
ais venerable wife. At the conclusion of
he ceremony, when the chaplain extended
lis hand with the nuptial benediciion and
ismissed them, IS was the custom, in
hort prayer, they both dropped on their
Knees together, their eyes streaming with
esrs Of thanhnlness, and st the close, still
1neeling, the old man reached out both
arms and hugged her TO his heart, saying
loud, My dear O1diwomsn, bless God
hat can now for the frst time kiss my
,wn lawful wife,,
One illustration of the cruelty of slavery
S found in the fact that in nearly one
bird of all the cases recorded, one Of the
PARTIES had been separated from former
nate "by force" OF these one thousand
our hundred and ffty-six marriages, five
hundred and fftytwo persons answered
hat they had been married before, and
Sd been sold away or driven away from Ii
hose who had sustained to them the dear
st relation Of life. OF these former mar
isges, thus virtually disrupted, there were
orn one thousand and seYenty-seven
hildren; and who shall measure the sor-
oWs Of fathers aud mothers thus torn away
rom their own fish and blood, or Of the
hildren, by this accursed traffic bereft Of
srents, and lefE to the nurture of those
rho cared for them as simple property
his makes no account of the children sold
rom parents, but only Of parents sold from
hildren.
There have scanned to be tides in this
sea. One chaplain married
ne hundred and two couples in one day
7hich shows 70 what perfection art may
ttSin, with sufficient practice. He would
e awell-to do in the world, ifnorthern
otions Of marriage fees prevailed. On I
apply for the chaplsins, they do not.
me received q silver dime for marrying {
Ouple. Several times the parsons have
cen presented with dime, postal curren-
y, and half dime has been given as q
marriage fee. But the strangest Of all was
ne from company of eleven couples mar
led at once. A bride, mora thoughtful
nan her evidently worssr hall, came up to
be chaplain and said that she had not
luch to give, but begged him to accept a
mall token of interest in what had been
one for her and her family" and handed
i'm q sweet potstoel he received it and
banked her politely, and was much pleas 4
Al = L Il