Under slavery blacks were forbidden to legally marry, therefore necessitating this provision.

Staunton Vindicator


December 22, 1865

The Freedmen's Court in Richmond has authorized its Clerk to issue marriage licenses to negroes and fixed the fee for each license at 20 cents. It has also designated two colored preachers to tie the hymenial knot for the Dinahs and Sambos of the city.

1865 Newspapers Index
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