MARRIAGES BETWEEN SLAVES AND FREE NEGROES
Statutes relative to marriages between free Negroes and slaves are not numerous. Presumably, the term “persons of color” included both Negroes born free and those who had been slaves. A Tennessee court,[[148]] in 1882, held that the formal marriage of a free Negro and a slave, with the consent of the master, followed by a cohabitation for years, was a valid marriage and entitled the woman to dower.