property. If there was a subsequent marriage and children born of it, the slave children shared with them pro rata.
A statute of Louisiana,[16] in 1868, legalized all private or religious marriages, provided that the parties, within two years, made a declaration of their marriage before a notary public or other competent officer, giving the date of the marriage and the number and ages of the children. Though the statute did not mention Negroes, it must have been passed for their benefit.
In 1873, the following case[17] came before the Louisiana court: A Negro's parents, who had lived together as husband and wife, died before Emancipation. The majority of the court held that, if they had lived till after Emancipation, their children would have been capable of inheriting their property, but, since they died before Emancipation, their marriage was never legalized, and their offspring could not so inherit. The dissenting opinion was that, since the slaves had done all they could to be legally married, they should be recognized as married and their children should be legitimated.
Maryland,[18] in 1867, confirmed and made valid all previous marriages between colored persons, but required them to prove before a justice of the peace that they had been so married; and a certificate to that effect had to be filed with the clerk of the court. Thereafter, colored persons must secure licenses and be married in the same manner as white people.
