HAND LETTERED MARRIAGE LICENSE FOR WILLIAM K. HENRY AND LOUISA M. ATKINSON, ADAMS COUNTY, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, DECEMBER 29, 1846.
[Natchez, Mississippi: 1846]. Single sheet, folded to 25 x 20 cm. (1) pp. of text, internal pages blank, docketed on the fourth page. Old fold lines else a very nice example. A neatly calligraphic document, the marriage license, "State of Mississippi, Adams County, to any Judge, Minister, or Justice, lawfully authorized to celebrate the Rites of Matrimony," is on the upper two- thirds of the page decorated with two small hand colored doves, and hand lettered text within a border of colored lines, affixed with an official seal. Signed by R.A. Inge, Clerk; and Chas. Sheldon. The lower third of the page, also in manuscript, prints the statement of Pastor Jos. B. Stratton of the Presbyterian Church in Natchez that he had joined the two "in the holy state of matrimony" on Dec. 29, 1846. Item #66747
William K. Henry (1807-1853), born in Ireland, was a merchant in Natchez, Mississippi with real estate valued at $14,000 according to the 1850 Census. The census also lists six children, aged from 15 to under a year, so Louisa was likely a second wife. The Mississippi Free Trader, a newspaper published in Natchez, advertised on March 12, 1851, that William K. Henry of Cotton Square was "determined to stand by and give a preference to Southern manufactures over those of the North,[and would] fill the most extensive plantation orders for excellent Osnaburgs, and other fabric for negro clothing" all manufactured in the neighboring state of Louisiana. "Now there is a chance for those who really wish to encourage the manufacture of our great Southern staple at home to come forward, and show their sincerity by their deeds."
Henry was also listed as the owner of five slaves in the 1850 slave schedules. On October 17, 1853, one of his slaves, a man named Frank murdered Henry. The Mississippi Free Trader reported the crime in an issue on Oct. 25, 1853, describing the incident in gruesome detail. The Natchez Daily Courier of Nov. 4, 1853, and subsequent issues, published a reward offer of $250 for Frank's arrest.
Price: $300.00