NORTH CAROLINA MARRIAGE LAW – 1872
THE NEW
MARRIAGE LAW
As printed in The Southern Home (Charlotte, NC), Monday, June 24, 1872
This act of the last Legislature will be in force from the
first day of July, 1872. It prohibits the marriage of males under 16 and of
females under 14; limits Whites, Blacks and Indians to their respective races.
Parties under 18 years of age can not obtain license without the consent of
their parents or some near relative with whom they reside. The license must
give the full names of the parties and of their parents, their ages, color and
place of residence. If a minister or
magistrate marries without proper license, or fail within two months thereafter
to make a return of the names, ages,
color and residences of the parties, attested by at least three witnesses, he
is to pay a fine of $200. Marriage
contracts to defraud creditors are void. Husbands are not liable for debt of
wives, contracted before marriage. By written agreements of the parties, any
wife may become a “free trader.” The Superior Courts may grant divorces, for
desertion, when one party shall “maliciously turn the other out of doors,”
“endanger the life of the other,” “render life burdensome,” or “become an
habitual drunkard.”
Either
man or wife eloping with another party forfeits all claim on the person or the
property of the party forsaken. In granting a divorce, the Judge is to give
proper orders in regard to the support and education of the children. Biblical Recorder.
GO
TO UNION COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA MARRIAGES
This page created May 15, 2004
By Julie Hampton Ganis
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Last modified Monday, 17-May-2004 21:38:35 MDT