This 1866 Declaration of Marriage between Elisha and Susan Young Green in Mason County helps tell Kentucky's story in the exhibit A Kentucky Journey at the Kentucky History Center. Courtesy Mason County Historical Society.
In the immediate post-Civil-War period, the General Assembly passed numerous acts dealing with matters pertaining to former slaves. An act approved February 14, 1866, provided that “all negroes and mulattos may intermarry with each other in the same manner and under the same regulations that are provided by law for white persons.” Those who had been living together could appear before the county court clerk and pay the clerk fifty cents to record their marriage. For an extra twenty-five cents, they could obtain a certificate. The county court clerk was required to keep separate marriage records for blacks and whites.
This 1866 Declaration of Marriage between Elisha and Susan Young Green in Mason County helps tell Kentucky's story in the exhibit A Kentucky Journey at the Kentucky History Center. Courtesy Mason County Historical Society.
