Information about the NC Cohabitation records created in March 1866 appears at the NCDigital collection where these records are housed. The description reads as follows:  In March 1866, the General Assembly passed “An Act Concerning Negroes and Persons of Color or of Mixed Blood,” which included a statute that enslaved people who had been living together as man and wife during slavery were now considered to be legally married. Called Cohabitation Bonds, these were filed with the Register of Deeds and were retroactive, legitimizing the marriages of former enslaved peoples. Typically included was the name and age of the bride and groom and length of time they had been “married”. Some counties include the name of the enslaver and/or the number of children the couple may have had. While in the original records cohabitation bonds are sometimes named as such, for many marriage records we cannot determine the race of the couple. In some instances, other marriage records from 1866 may be ...

I was searching for Christmas images and happened upon this image. It fit my search "Carolina Christmas," but it took me in and entirely different direction.  Source This Wake County cohabitation record issued in 1866, records that Seth Christmas and Sallie Christmas "if said County, lately slaves, but now emancipated, and acknowledged that they do cohabit together as man and wife, and that said cohabitation commenced the 11 day of Oct.,1855. " The record was recorded by J. J. Ferrell. I checked for more images but did not find them. This is a treasure indeed. Any Christmas descendants out there reading our blog?  If you would like to search for other similar documents, be to check the NC State Archives store where you may request a Cohabitation Bond and Record Lookup, 1866-1867 . NC residents may request a search for free and be invoiced if a record is found. Nonresidents must pay a $20 search fee either way.  The following information is required for the search: C...