In 1806, with a license from the Clerk of Court in Campbell County, free black Robert Wright married Mary Godsey, a free white woman. They were married before a "regularly Licensed Minister of the Gospel." In January 1815, Mary eloped with a white man, William Arthur, carrying "a negro Girl and other property belonging to your petitioner." Wright overtook the two in Liberty, and persuaded his wife to return, but in November 1815, the two eloped again, this time fleeing to Nashville, Tennessee. Although he knew there was a law against interracial marriage, Wright asserts that his marriage was "valid and binding." As a result, he seeks a divorce.
Result: Rejected.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
