The Washington times. [volume], January 25, 1920, FINAL EDITION, The American Weekly, Page 7, Image 31

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
_ a - ? ?* ^^
Proved HernuYbdnd Was aNejro
S!S?aa??afe???>?s?Xf&??^^
tmw* *?JP ,,^**"^
??*=^
(A) On the Left, a white Man's Skull; on the Right, a Negro's.
The Facial Angle (BAD) of the Former Is Nearly
a Right Angle, While in the Latter It
la Much More Acute.
How the Nostrils Differ.
(Al ???H.lril. ttairh Are I >?l<aal 4>f
? ?..- Whit? Harr. IBI ?4 a?. I rila V. hl. k
At* I ?aalral ?( th?' *4??*?ll?? Karr.
? I Na??trU? I ?aalraU vt >a-er? R?.r
?^X'ivi
?.
u
?
l
Microscopic Striction of White
Men's Skin, Showing Straight
Course of Hia Hair and the
Anglo at Which It Emergea.
Crosa Sections of Hair
ti.?a.r. Whll? Man'?, Ovali
la Ik? Centre. *l*4aat ?>f
I H?t.r, ll?>uaa?J, II. lu ? . a
>rar?'a. a rut lalllpaar.
Grasatly Enlarged Microscopic
View of Negro's Skin. Note
Curved Course of Hair, Which
Is What Make? It So "Kinky.''
Distressing Predicament of a Wealthy Young
Widow Who Was Deceived by a Fine Looking
"Spanish" Gentleman _ ._
There waa an Old Man of Jamaica,
Who suddenly married a Quaker;
But she cried out, "Oh, Alack;
I have married a black!"
Which distreaaed that Old Man of Jamaica.
EVERYBODY who has read Edward
Lear's book of Nonsense Hhymes
remembers the limerick printed
above?but nobody supposed that any stich
thing could ever happen in real life. And
yet it !..is actually happened and a Su
preme Court Judge sitting in White Plains
?a suburb of New York City?the other
day anuil.'il the marriage of Mrs. Theodore
B. Neale because she had unwittingly mar
rie 1 a black.
And it was not an easy thing for Mrs.
Neale to prove. Finally a commission was
sent to ?Massachusetts to examine birth
snd marriage records, and a professor of
ethnology of Harvard University was called
in to say whether negro blood flowed In
the veins of the Neale family.
A very similar case hu<l occurred five or
six years ago in Detroit, when a well
cnowu druggist. Arthur C. Little, became
convinced that his wife was a negrees. But
in spite of every effort Little was unable
to prove his suspicions?he found that it
was an extremely difficult thing to estab
lish.'
But now as to Mrs. Theodore B. Neale,
who was the charming young widow of the
ihe late S. H. Purdy. The young widow
was well-to-do and accomplished, and after
her bereavement four years ago* gave up
her bungalow in fashionable South Beach,
Conn., to move to New York, where she
had a wide circle of kind ami agreeaole
friends.
She and her husband had been compan
ions from childhood. They bad lived next
door to each other practically all their
lives until they were married, and his
death in 1912 was a shock that made her
forsake the activity of the city for four
years on the quiet shores of Long Island
Sound.
When she returned to Manhattan she re
sumed the social intercourse with inti
mates of former days when her husband
was alive. Through her friends she met
many people she had never known before,
and among the most interesting of those
introduced to her was a broad, dark-haired
man whose compelling height of six feet,
together with his dark Latin-race com
plexion, gave him a distinguished appear
ance.
He compelled her admiration and at
tracted her ^immensely. His name was
Theodore B. Neale and he had been a
friend of long standing among certain of
her most dependable and congenial com
panions. The attraction of the couple for
each other was mutual and after a court
ship of six months they were married on
March 31. 1?17.
Everybody was delighted. He was a fine
physical specimen and apparently a fit
mate for any woman. She was pretty,
wealthy and equipped generously with all
the attributes of a cultured women. Not
even the bride and groom could h.?ve been
tapoter over the match than the man's
father and mother-^Mr. and Mrs. Theodore
?. Neale?with whom the pon lived and
wbi>m the new daughter-in-law had met on
?n 'tous occasions.
G ?'ore they were married the fiance had
? ?? -irk??<l to Mrs. Purdy that he had In
ili-?n blood In his veins; that being part
veri skin accounted for his olive tinted
oiiiMexion. Mrs. Purdy Instead of being
-???-'od at this information was rather
??rnud of the fact, ?Ince some of our proud
" j| ?ind most honored Virginia families
boss' of their strain which goes hack to
th ? mating of John Rolfe and the Indian
princesas. Pocohontas. Mother and Father
In law Neale often casually referred to
(h"ir Spanish and French ancestry snd th?
senior Mrs. Nesle often by way of subfetan
tlatlon delivered heraelf nf a few ootn
m< rlv used plirsaes In the original French.
The bride and groom took an apartment
and settled down to a smooth and blissful
routine. Interchange of visits between the
Junior Neales and the senior were frequent
and always agreeable. The father, Theo
dore ?., was a member of the Masons and
the mother a highly respected member et
the sister organisation, the Order of the
Kastern Star.
It wae just two years after the
?veddtng. April 14. 1919, that
Mother-in-law Neale paid an In
formal luncheon call to her
daughter-in-law. The eenlor Mrs.
Neale always wore what hair
dressers style transformation
braids. There was nothing un
usual about ihis to strike the
younger Mrs. Neale, for their use
is a common practise In dressing
the hair. But on this day there
was something very unusual dis
covered in the senior Mrs. Neale's
coiffure.
In some manner the braids bad
become disarranged, and about
the ear and back of the neck the
bride saw peeping out'a patchiof
black kinky hair characteristic of
the negro. She was horrified and
the shock almost prostrated her.
However, she was able to main
tain her poise in spite of the sig
nificance of the revelation.
As the suspicion dawned on ner
that for two years she had been
living as the wife of a man with
negro blood in his veins, her sin
gle thought was to leave the
place and get out in the open to
reflect. This she did as soon as
her mother-in-law departed.
Her suspicions once aroused,
Mrs. Neale examined her hus
band's "Spanish" features min
utely and was convinced that Afri
can blood flowed in his veins.
She did not hesitate long as to
what course to pursue. She went
immediately to a lawyer who had
been a friend of the family for
some years?Burton C. Meighan,
of No. 120 Broadway. He advised
immediate separation, that very
day, while an investigation could
be conducted. Mrs. Neale never
returned to the apartment.
Mrs. Neale had heard her hus
band speak of a brother in Cam
bridge, Mass., although she had
never met him, and also had
heard that the family had moved
from Cambridge to New York.
Investigations were made and tes
timony taken in Massachusetts.
John H. Cleary, Assistent Su
perintendent of Mails of the Bos
ton Post Office, testified that he knew very
well a brother of Mrs. Neale's husband,
whose name was Arthur C. Neale. Mr.
Cleary gave this description of brother
Arthur:
"He is well built, about six feet in height
and has all the facial characteristics of a
negro. His color is yellow without ruddi
ness. His eyes are black, red spots on
white; his nose is flat, his lips are thick
and his hair Is Inclined to be s little bit
kinky. Arthur C. Neale has always been
regarded by me and others in my office as
a colored man."
Arthur C. Neale himself was then called
to the witness stand. He Is a brother of
Mrs. Neale's husband in Yonkers and he
testified as follows:
"I was born at Cambridge, Mass., May
19, 1878. and I am the full brother ot Theo
dore B. Neale anil am the son of Theodon?
A. Neale and Georgiana C. Neale; m ?
father and mother and brother live at No.
121 Sherman avenue, New York City, New
York. I was married to my present wife,
Charlotte Zulu, on tho sixth day of Octo
ber, 1903, st All Saints' Roman Catholic
Church In the Borough of Manhattan. City
of New York, by Thomas J. Klenan. Assist
ant Rector of said church. Mr wife and I
have had four children, who are all living
at the present time
"I do not know whether or not I am a
white man or a colored man either. I was
always led to believe that I was of Cuban
descent, and I always believed It. At the
time of our marriage, when the priest
asked us the color. I heard my wife aay as
to both we were mulatto, and I did not say
anything. The youngeat three of my said
children are here with us. My father*?
mother was the sister of Mrs. IaOiila Smith,
of No. 6 Howard street, Cambridge, Maaa..
1 believe. Rhe Is a widow and her maiden
name was Fannie Smith. It Is my suppo
sition that my wife haa negro blood.' I am
not a negro.''
Professor Earnest Albert Hooton, In
Mrs. Alma Little, of Detroit.
Whose Husband Accused Her of
Being a Negress, But Waa
Unable to Prove It.
structor In Anthropology and
stomatology In the Peabody
Museum of Harvard University,
testified thus:
"By somatology I mean the
science that concerns Itself with
the physical characteristics of
human types. It might he other
wise expressed as 'Physical An
thropology.' Foe ten years last
past I have made a specialty of
the study of the different types
of the human race. I have par
ticularly specialised In the phys
ical and anatomical characteris
tics of human types especially
with respect to recial distinc
tion.
"In thia connection I have par
ticularly studied the physical
and anatomical and physiologl
cal traits of negroid type?; In
other words, I am familiar with
the human traits of' the kind
mentioned Indicating the ex
istence of an admixture of negro
blood. One of my provinces at
Harvard Is a course of lectures on race
mixture.
"I have been present this morning at
the same time and In the same room with
Arthur C. Neale. his wife and three,chil
dren. I saw and heard them testify (the
husband and wife) and I talked with the
children. I msde a careful physical ob
servation of the family.
"From this observation snd without re
gard to any genealogical date I formed the
following opinion concerning the family
Both the husband and wife, in my opinion.
have a decided and unmistakable admli
ture ot negro blood My opinion a? to the
husband and wife derived from obaervlag
their physical rhararlerlstliH w?? atr*?ngth
ened by my Observation of the physical
characteristics of their children.
"The anatomical elements upon which I
based these conclusions are ss follows:
IO If*?, lalsravstloaal rsetur. S?r?l???, lar.
Ir?. prr..l..a .. f ?
W I | t ? Pera??'?
? -??i. Idearla* Ihr
IIiKh lrrk,-l iB.
?'?-? Which la
< 4? a raa?? la? ri? III- of
th?- White Rar??.
Mra. Theodore B. Neale,
Whoae Marriage Was Re
cent I y Annulled Because
Her Husband Turned
Out to Be of Negro
Parentage.
F*irst, as to Arthur C. Neale, his com
plexion Is negroid-yellow brown. His hair
Is black and wavr snd at the fore part of
the temples I observed a distinctive ne
groid wave. His beard is spsrse; hi? fore
head Is slightly protuberant, his nose Is
strslght with a slightly depressed tip,
spreading alae (wings of the nose), nos
trils negroid, entire nose rather broad.
"The Integumental lips are thick (by In
legumental I mean the portions above and
below the true lip? or membranous lips);
this Inteawmental thickening In do?? ?? ??
pronounced ileveirapment of llir inn?., I.?
that auirrsund? Ihe mouth knoan a?, lh.?
orbicular!? or?* m?sete? The chin Is of
mrxllnm development The Irla of the eye
Is dark brown and pigment Is present in
the sclerotic (or white of the ere). The
heel of the foot Is slightly more promi
nent than in white?.
????a. rtrll.ln Hlfhl. R..ar?.rl
Her Suspicions \ _
Once Aroused, QTiffft^
Mrs. Neale ^??-'
Examined Her v
Huaband ? "Spanish" Features Minutely and Waa
Convinced That African Blood Flowed in His Veins.
Im|.??l..a of lb.
I . ?tf a Na-ar..
? im .....? llaaslaa
thr l.r.Minil II..?,?
If al ? ?. . ? I-..I..I
"Mrs. Arthur C. Neale
exhibits all of the char
acteristics that I have
described with respect
to her husband, but the
following characteris
tics exist in addition:
Her face, while lighter
in hue. is of a more
characteristically ? e -
groid shape, her
nose is flatter
and more typi
cal ; her lips are
thicker ani
show the typical
white line ?livid
ing the mem
branous and in
tegumental lips,
her hair is more
? ron o u n?*?vlly
wavy and her
eyes have a
greater amount
of pigment, both
In the Iris and
thesclerotlecoat.
?Tho children
show clear evi
dence of an ad
mixture of negro
blood. This Is
most pronounced
In the largest
boy. who in ad
dition to the
cha racteristics
described In the
case of the par
ente, ?hows h
more pronounced negroid nose and a
slight alveolar prognathJsm (protrusion
of the law).
"None of the Neale family that 1 have
seen here to-day are fulljblooded' negroea,
but I would say that as to Arthur C.
N'eale, the admixture of negro blood would
be about one-fourth, and I would say as
to the wife that there was at least as
much as that. An octoroon would ordi
narily not show as typical negroid charac
teristics as either Mr. or Mrs. Neale."
Thomas J. Oonrick. Assistant City Clerk
of the City of Cambridge, Mass., swore
to the following:
"The annexed certificate marked ?* of
the record of marriage of Theodore A.
Neale and Georgiana C. Howard (father
and mother of the accused mani Is a true
copy ot* the records of the city of Cam
bridge, and the letter M under designa
tlon 'color* means that the persons named
were mulattoes. That further, the at
tached certificate marked 'B' Is a true
copy of the records of the clerk of the
city of Cambridge of 'the intention of mar
riage' filed by Theodore A. Neale and
Georgiana C. Howard, and that the letter
'M' under designation of color means that
the parties were mulattoes. That further,
the certificate of birth of Arthur Chapman
Neale (brother of thte accused man) is a
true copy of the records of the city clerk's
office at Cambridge, and that the letter'B'
under designation of color means 'black.' "
And all this testimony, taken in Massa
chusetts, was laid before the New York
court. Justice Moschauser promptly is
sued an order annulling the marriage, and
the widow takes the name of her dead
husband, Purdy. The decision is believed
to be unique in the courts of the United
States. Legal experts say that this caso
Is the only one that is known where a
marriage has taken place between a white
woman and a man of negro extraction and
the knowledge of the taint deliberately
concealed.
A curious phase of this unique case is
the attitude of Mrs. Neale?now the Widow
Purdy again. It would be natural to sup
pose that having had such a deception
practised upon her she would feel some
vindictlveness against -the man and the
family who brought this chapter Into
her life. On the contrary, she has already
forgiven the man In spite of the anguish
that the discovery has brought her. After
Ihe trial she mede the ?following statement.
"I have already forgiven the sin of Theo
dore Neale and that of his mother and
father. I believe In the brotherhood of
man: to live and let live, and I hope for
their happiness In the remaining years of
their life. If I could spare any of tin m
sorrow I would be willing to do almost
anything to help except continuing to live
wllh him. I wish him well and every
success.
"Two wrongs never made a right, and
while It would seem hard to forgive such
nn Injustice I have risen above the feeling
of resentment and can truthfully say that
I have forgiven them. ,
"It has been a hard struggle I will ad
mit. I wonder some times how I have
been ?hie to keep up under the shock of
the discovery and the whole affair. But
somehow I have, and the spirit of my for
giveness Is such that I would never have
had the case made public If I could have
helped it. I do feel, though, that It la my
duty to do all that I can to prevent the
same thing from occurring again."