Rehoboth History Mystery:

Historical records show the marriage in Middleborough, Massachusetts of Alexander Williams to Katie Mack. He is age 68, she is only 41. He is black, she is white. In this record, Alexander is a laborer. The record shows he was born in Baltimore, Maryland and his parents are Alexander and Sophie Williams. Katie was born in New Hampshire.

An 1880 Census of New Bedford shows Alexander and Catherine living at 5 Elm Street, close to the waterfront. He is a laborer, age 58, Catherine is 33. I believe this couple is the same one that married, legally, 8 years later. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts abolished anti-miscegenation in 1843.

If Alexander was indeed from Baltimore, Maryland as stated in his marriage record in 1888, this marriage would still have been illegal there. Maryland was the first state to ban inter-racial marriages in 1664. The ban was not overturned there until 1967, over three hundred years later. Massachusetts, however was a much more progressive state, and is even today.