A Prized Find!

This video demonstrates one of my most prized finds, a Register of Marriages in Albemarle County, VA in 1888. It lists of all marriages registered with the county offices in Albemarle County, VA during the course of the year. It shows my Great-Great Grandparents Moses and Amanda (Lockett) Moon married on January 4, 1888. They are listed as “colored”, in their twenties, with both sets of parents. The register also lists Moses employed as a Farmer and the ceremony was performed by Homer Bowles.

This time period was twenty-three years after the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution was passed/ratified and eighteen years after the 1870 Census provided detail information on the Black population. Just imagine how their union was celebrated in light of the current events. Did they jump the broom? What did her dress look like? Who were the guests at the ceremony? So many questions with more research to follow. Let us find your deep roots.