African American Declarations of Marriages of 1800s
Jessamine County, Kentucky
(County Seat - Nicholasville)
Transcribed and Contributed by Patsy Benton


The following declarations of marriage are the result of an act of the Kentucky Legislature dated February 14, 1866, which reads as follows,

“All negroes and mulattos who have heretofore lived together and cohabited, and do now live together as husband and wife, shall be taken and held in law as legally married and the issue held as legitimate for all purposes: provided such person shall appear before a clerk of the County Court of their residence and declare that they have been and desire to continue living together as husband and wife, when, upon receipt of a fee of 50 cents, the clerk shall make a record of such declaration and for an additional fee of 25 cents shall furnish the parties with a certificate of said declaration. Said record or certificate shall be evidence of the existence of the marriage.”

NAME YEARS TOGETHER DATE OF DECLARATION
Baker, Henry and Catharine 19 24 Apr. 1874
Ballard, William and Margaret 7 26 May 1869
Barkley, Henry and Mary Ann 30 11 Nov. 1872
Batchman, James and Miranda 2 7 Jan. 1867
Bell, Charles and Jane 11 22 Apr. 1876
Benman, Simen and Matilda 8 19 May 1873
Berry, Oliver and Rachal Washington -- --
Bingham, James and Maria 6 14 Sep. 1872
Black, Willis and Mary Ann 4 2 May 1868
Bradshaw, Samuel and Frankie 40 31 Mar. 1898
Braudice, Samuel and Susan 5 1 July 1872
Britten, Doster and Mary 5 10 Oct. 1867
Brooks, Charles and Mary 10 16 May 1870
Brooks, Lewis and Lucinda 15 21 Aug. 1869
Brooks, Parker and Charlotte 18 7 Aug. 1869
Brown, Nelson and Margaret 26 28 Apr. 1877
Burdett, Gabriel and Lucinda 13 18 Nov. 1868
Burns, Levi and Paulina 7 11 Mar. 1870
Burnsides, Barnett and Malinda 5 8 Feb. 1872
Caldwell, Richard and Sallie 48 16 Apr. 1878
Campbell, Merriman and America 16 31 June 1868
Campbell, Horace and Malinda 23 18 Sep. 1882
Carter, Henry and Lucinda (formerly Smith) 35 21 Nov. 1881
Chinn, Milton and Charity 22 19 Mar. 1877
Claiborn, John and Rachel 40 30 June 1866
Clarke, John and Hulda -- 21 Aug. 1869
Clarke, Nelson and Mary Ann 18 16 Dec. 1869
Clay, Ambrose and Hannah 27 30 Sep. 1871
Clay, Henry and Celia 5 7 Jan. 1869
Clay, Henry and Mary 12 11 Aug. 1874
Clay, John and Susan 10 26 Sep. 1870
Clay, Noah and Targus 40 14 Mar. 1871
Coleman, Strather and Sarilda 15 19 Feb. 1874
Combs, Ambrose and Henrietta 12 31 May 1861
Combs, Edmund and Polina 20 16 May 1873
Creer, Henry and Susan L. 25 3 Apr. 1875
Crockett, Edward and Frances 10 16 May 1870
Crowder, Milford and Martha 8 14 Sep. 1872
Curd, Benjamin and Mary 13 12 Dec. 1870
Davenport, Reuben and Malissa 50 15 Apr. 1869
Dennis, Robert and Ella 1 25 Sep. 1866
Diggs, Brooks and Emily 22 7 July 1873
Elkins, Moses and Ann 17 26 May 1869
Favors, Joseph and Susan 15 2 Mar. 1875
Favors, Levi and Easter McDowell 40 17 May 1873
Fields, Jesse and Betsie Lay 17 14 May 1881
Fields, Samuel and Phoebe 38 13 Feb. 1869
Fletcher, Horace and Maria 31 1 Mar. 1875
Fletcher, Pleasant and Maria 5 14 Sep. 1872
Foster, Bartlett and Rachel 8 17 May 1873
Fry, Green and Mary 4 24 Aug. 1869
Fry, Thomas and Eliza 3 31 July 1867
Gartner, John and Cisila 25 26 June 1886
Gates, Green and Sallie 15 4 July 1870
Glover, Christopher and Ann 30 1 Apr. 1872
Graves, Asa and Jane 14 17 May 1873
Graves, Moses and Eliza 18 17 May 1873
Gray, James and Lucinda abt. 23 17 Apr. 1876
Gray, Lewis and Mary 19 21 Feb. 1873
Gray, William and Ellen 9 27 May 1874
Grey, Smith and Johnie 6 14 Jan. 1867
Guy, Buford and Margaret 30 10 May 1873
Hansford, John and Nelly 7 4 July 1870
Harris, Edmund and Matilda 14 18 Apr. 1870
Hawkins, Jerry and Margaret 24 18 Apr. 1870
Hawkins, Harvey and Viney 5 6 May 1869
Hawkins, Milan and Elizabeth 25 20 Sep. 1866
Hayden, Washington and Mary 21 6 Feb. 1869
Hervey, George and Lucinda 28 9 Aug. 1869
Hightower, Thomas and Nancy (formerly Dowel) 14 3 Nov. 1879
Hill, Harry and Lizzie 17 5 Apr. 1877
Hill, Robert H. and Belle 11 10 Oct. 1874
Hix, Jordan and Manda 18 17 May 1873
Humphreys, James and Mary 20 26 Sep. 1870
Hunter, George and Harriett 8 21 June 1867
Hunter, Lafayette and Susan 3 1/2 4 Mar. 1871
Hunter, Wesley and Martha 15 19 Feb. 1874
Hutchinson, Abram and Emily 5 1 Oct. 1870
Jackson, Henry and Margaret 10 25 Jan. 1876
Jenkins, Joseph and Muranda 20 7 Aug. 1869
Johnson, Arthur and Caroline 30 2 May 1877
Johnson, John and Kittie 11 7 Jan. 1867
Johnson, William and Rachel 20 27 Dec. 1867
Jones, William and Jane 23 5 July 1875
Kennedy, Berley and Jane 20 1 Dec. 1873
Kennedy, George and Viney 17 16 Mar. 1877
Kimbo, Niel and Roseanna 38 6 May 1873
King, Miles and Sarah 31 22 Feb. 1873
King, Milo and Hannah 21 20 Feb. 1869
Lamb, Mansfield and Nancy 20 5 Feb. 1870
Lamb, Miegs and Fanny 12 18 Nov. 1869
Lewis, Courtney and Mary 8 17 Sep. 1870
Lewis, Jacob and Ellen 13 8 Mar. 1873
Lewis, James T. and Harriett 18 26 July 1879
Lewis, Nathan and Bettie Chrisman 25 19 May 1881
Logan, Hubbard and Liza 16 10 Sep. 1869
Lowry, Thomas and Eliza 30 18 Apr. 1870
McClair, Harry and Alice 9 17 Nov. 1873
McKabe, John and Sally 50 8 May 1874
Marks, George and Julia 3 7 Jan. 1867
Martin, Edmund and Anny 22 22 Mar. 1867
Mason, Otho and George Ann 3 7 Jan. 1869
Maxberry, John and Anna 9 17 Mar. 1870
Meeks, Daniel and Caroline 30 21 Mar. 1873
Miller, Reuben and Nancy 20 8 May 1873
Moore, Spencer and Josephine 40 5 Sep. 1870
Moses, Kirtis and Margaret 14 3 Apr. 1875
Ogle, Dudley and Martha Baker 40 27 Apr. 1898
Overstreet, Samuel and Louisa 28 19 Oct. 1868
Overstreet, William and Clarisa 24 25 Dec. 1871
Pack, Sam and Mary 3 13 Feb. 1873
Patterson, William and Margaret 2 5 Sep. 1868
Payne, Henry and Martha 9 5 May 1869
Payne, Henry and Susan 15 4 Feb. 1867
Payne, Moses and Sarah 12 12 Mar. 1875
Perkins, Jefferson and Jane 23 9 Aug. 1869
Phillips, Joseph and Amanda 12 26 May 1877
Porter, Charles and Susan 11 4 Mar. 1876
Porter, James and Winney 14 26 Feb. 1870
Prather, Samuel and Sally 16 12 Aug. 1869
Price, Moses and Nancy Jane 11 5 May 1869
Pue, Galvin and Maria 9 24 May 1873
Quincy, John and America 10 12 June 1873
Ranson, James and Mary 17 24 June 1870
Reed, Henry and Paulina 4 5 May 1869
Reed, Henry and Sallie 4 12 May 1868
Reed, John and Mary Ann 35 14 Aug. 1869
Robb, John and Lydia 18 28 May 1866
Robb, Samuel and Mary 40 18 July 1876
Robinson, Jack and Margaret 18 15 Feb. 1869
Sampson, Jefferson and Mary Jane 30 3 Dec. 1877
Saulter (Salter), James and Harriet 34 18 Sep. 1869
Saunders, Merriman and Milly 40 15 Dec. 1879
Seymore, Andrew and Elizabeth 5 24 Apr. 1869
Seymore, Charles and Nancy 10 1 Feb. 1873
Seymore, Nathaniel and Cyrilda 30 12 Jan. 1867
Seymore, William and Bettie 10 11 Feb. 1875
Slaughter, Armsted and Jude 7 18 Apr. 1870
Smith, Allen and Mary 20 30 Dec. 1875
Smith, Benjamin and Patsy 31 5 May 1869
Smith, Harvey and Mary 14 22 July 1876
Smith, Jacob and Hannah 14 6 Aug. 1869
Smith, Joe and Patsy 5 7 Aug. 1869
Smothers, Cary and Charlotte 8 21 Aug. 1869
Stevenson, Isaac and Martha 30 23 Mar. 1878
Stout, Randel and Mary 23 20 Dec. 1873
Stoball, Nathan and Betty 21 26 May 1869
Strange, Samuel and Harriet 15 24 Feb. 1874
Swift, Richard and Cyntha 12 20 Nov. 1869
Taylor, David and Celia 11 1 Oct. 1873
Taylor, Joseph and Elizabeth 17 1 May 1871
Taylor, Peter and Henrietta 8 11 July 1866
Taylor, Vinson and Harriet 10 21 Feb. 1874
Taylor, William and Bettie 14 4 Sep. 1869
Thomas, Clarke and Easter 35 5 Nov. 1879
Thompson, Lewis and Malinda 15 23 Aug. 1873
Tisdale, Benjamin and Ellen 2 8 Mar. 1867
Tracy, John and Julia Ann 13 12 May 1871
Tracy, Stephen and Margaret -- --
Trimble, Anderson and Lucy 10 9 Oct. 1869
Tyler, Martin and Maria 27 31 Aug. 1875
Vaughn, George and Delila 15 25 Mar. 1872
Vaughn, William and Eliza Jane 23 5 Nov. 1886
Vinegar, John and Harriett 10 13 Apr. 1875
Wake, Marshall and Mary 20 10 July 1875
Wake, Spencer and Sarah 8 29 May 1869
Walker, Alexander and Susan 6 3 June 1869
Walker, George and Mary 10 31 July 1875
Walker, Isaah and Emily 2 14 Sep. 1872
Walker, Merriman and Sallie 15 23 Mar. 1874
Walker, Sidney and Asten 6 22 Aug. 1871
Walker, Squire and Harriett 3 17 Aug. 1868
Walker, Stephen and Harriet 26 30 Jan. 1869
Walker, Woodson and Celia Ann 10 5 Feb. 1869
Wallace, Aleck and Mildred 27 10 May 1873
Watters, Stuart and Annie 30 25 Mar. 1871
Watts, Cupit and Amanda 17 14 May 1874
Wearen (Warren), Henry and Ellen 4 22 Oct. 1869
Wells, Levi and Eliza 7 8 May 1873
West, George and Luvina 9 25 July 1874
West, Henry and Eddie 20 1 July 1871
Wheeler, George and Lucy 8 24 Feb. 1874
White, Edmund and Jane 8 14 Sep. 1872
White, Thomas and Eliza Ann 18 31 July 1875
Williams, Charles and Harriett 25 24 July 1875
Williams, Fred and Ellen 15 27 Sep. 1873
Williams, Henry and Susan 12 16 Feb. 1874
Williams, James and Viney 6 26 Mar. 1869
Williams, Jerry and Mahalia 25 19 Apr. 1878
Williams, Meriot and Mary 7 6 Sep. 1870
Williams, Milton and Charlotte (late Todd) 12 29 Aug. 1868
Williams, Moses and Polly 40 25 Sep. 1869
Williams, Peter and Adaline 20 4 July 1870
Williams, Peter and Mary 4 4 July 1870
Williams, Peter and Mary R. 16 8 Jan. 1876
Williams, Samuel and Harinda 35 26 Sep. 1870
Williamson, Cary and Selvy 15 11 May 1872
Willoughby, John and Malinda 24 20 Dec. 1875
Wilson, Alexander and Lucinda 19 27 Mar. 1869
Wilson, Charles Henry and Eliza Williams -- --
Woods, Brent and Mary 20 28 Oct. 1876
Woods, Samuel and Louisa 16 2 Aug. 1875
Woolfolk, Albert and Almira 30 20 Aug. 1867
Woolfolk, William and Susan 15 26 Jan. 1867
Wright, Jacob and Louisa 4 24 Apr. 1869
Wyatt, George and Amanda 30 5 July 1873
Young, Hary and Juda 20 11 June 1866
Young, Laurence and Eliza 23 14 Feb. 1876