1837 AD married
Emerson took Scott to Fort Snelling, in what is now the state of Minnesota and was then in the free territory of Wisconsin. There, Scott met and married Harriet Robinson, a slave owned by Lawrence Taliaferro.
The marriage between the two slaves was particularly notable at the time because an actual civil ceremony took place, officiated over by Robinson Scott's owner, Taliaferro, a justice of the peace. Slave marriages were not recognized as valid at the time for several reasons, including that slaves were generally not allowed to enter into contracts, and the fear that they could then claim additional rights that would undermine the property rights of their owners.
The fact that an official ceremony took place was an important point in the subsequent trial, because it suggested that both Emerson and Taliaferro might have recognized the Scotts as free people at the time of their marriage.
According to an interview Taliaferro gave around 1864, he was responsible for "marrying the two and giving the girl her freedom". Whether this was really the case is unclear, and others believe that Robinson Scott was sold to Emerson, however no record of a sale has ever been found. Since the Scotts continued to work for, and be hired out by, Emerson following their marriage, they did not live as free people.
Lattitude: 44.8927° N
Longitude: 93.1805° W
Region: North America
Modern Day United States
Subjects Who or What married?
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Dred Scott An enslaved African-Amer...
Objects To Whom or What was married?
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Harriet Robinson Scott African-American woman w...
Events in 1837 MORE
