The Washington times., 1920-01-25
Distressing Predicament Of a Wealthy Young
Widow Who Was Deceived BY Fine Looking
".s .sSpanish'' Gentleman

There was an Old Man Of Jamaica,
Who suddenly married a Quaker;
But she cried out, ''oh, Alack;
have married bIack!"
Which distressed that Old Man OF Jamaica.
- vERYBoDY who has read Edward
Lear's book Of Nonsense Rhymes
- remembers the limerick printed
above-but nobody supposed that any such
thing could ever happen in real life. And
yet it has actually happened and Su.
preme Court Judge sitting in White Plains
"a suburb of New York City-the other
day anulIed the marriage Of Mrs. Theodore
b. Neale because she had unwittingly mar
riei a black.
And II was not an easy thing for Mrs.
Neale to prove. Finally commission was
sent to Massachusetts to examine birth
and marriage records, and a professor of
ethnology of Harvard University was called
in to say whether negro blood flowed in
the veins Of the Neale family.
very similar case had occurred five or
SIX years dBO III bctioit, WhCh "Ch
known druggist. Arthur C. Little, became
convinced that his wife was a negress. But
in spite of every effort Little was unable
to prove his suspicions-he found that it
was an extremely difficult thing to estab-
lish.
But now as to Mrs. Theodore B. Neale,
who was the charming young widow of the
the late S. H. Purdy. The young widow
was well-todo and accomplished, and after
her bereavement four years ago gave up
her bungalow in fashionable South Beach,
Conn, to move to New York, where she
had wide circle of kind and agreeable
friends.
She and her husband had been compan-
ions from childhood. They had lived next
door to each other practically all their
lives until they we're married, and his
death in 1912 was shock that made her
forsake the activity of the city for four
years on the quiet shores of Long Island
Sound.
When she returned to Manhattan she re-
sunasd the social intercourse with init.
mates of former days when her husband
was alive. Through her friends she met
many people she had never known before,
and among the most interesting Of those
introduced to her was broad, dark-haired
man whose compelling height of six feet
together with his dark Latin-race COM
plexion, gave him distinguished appear
ance.
He compelled her admiration and at
tracted her Immensely. His name was
Theodore B. Neale and he had been a
friend Of long standing among certain Of
her most dependable and congenial COM
panions. The attraction of the couple for
each other was mutual and after a court
ship of six months they were married on
March 81, 1917.
: Everybody was delighted He was a fine
physical specimen and apparently a fit
mate for any woman. She was pretty,
wealthy and equipped generously with all
the attributes of q cultured woman. Not
even the bride and groom could have been
happier over the match than the mans
father and mother--Mr. and Mrs. Theodore
A. Neale--with whom the son lived and
whom the new daughter-in-law had met on
uur'arous occasions.
Pasore they we're married the fiance had
re"arked to Mrs. Purdy that he had In
dian blood in his veins; that being part
redskin accounted for his olive tinted
complexion. Mrs. Prndy instead OF being
sh"cted at this information was rather
rroud Of the fact, since some Of our proud
est aud most honored Virginia families
boas. of their strain which goes back to
tbs mating Of John Rolfe and the Indian
princess, Pocohontas. Mother and Father
in.law Neale often casually referred to
their Spanish and French ancestry and the
senior Mrs. Neale often by way Of substan.
tiation delivered herself OF few CON-
mcrly used phrases in the original French
The bride and groom took an apartment
and settled down to smooth and blissful
routine. Interchange Of visits between the
junior Neales and the senior were frequent
and always agreeable. The father Theo-
dore A., was member Of the Masons and
the mother highly respected member Of
the sister organization, the Order of the
Eastern Star.