Langhorn and Mary—A 19th Century American Love Story
A forbidden love that defied the odds.
Imagine a young African-American man and German-American woman falling in love and eloping in rural 1835 Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Sounds unbelievable, yet, it’s true. It is the most unique story of its kind that was hidden away for 135 years.
Langhorn H. and Mary (Stone) Wellings were modest, working-class people who wanted nothing more than to be left in peace with their three children. But they were inescapably caught up in the events and issues of the time—slavery, abolition, Underground Railroad, racism, Civil War, family estrangement, religious fervor.
Their marriage lasts thirty years until 1865 when Mary succumbs to apoplexy. Langhorn’s grief soon turns to horror, and his life is shattered, when he is arrested and accused of murdering his wife by poison. As the community’s prejudice and animosity simmer to the surface, Langhorn faces trial and the terrifyingly real possibility of hanging.
Will the truth prevail, or will the bigotry and bias prove insurmountable?
LANGHORN AND MARY is an unforgettable tale that men and women of all ages will appreciate. It is, all in one book, a historical novel, a docudrama, a love story, and an adventure. It is American history seen through the eyes of those who lived it.
Praise for
Langhorn and Mary
Mary Anne Parker-Hancock
Langhorn and Mary: A 19th Century American Love Story vividly captures the struggles and triumphs of an interracial couple navigating the turbulent social and political landscape of the mid-19th century. Sharp brings Langhorn and Mary to life against the backdrop of major historical events of their time, masterfully weaving their love story with the larger narrative of societal conflict and change. A compelling blend of personal struggle, history, and social commentary.
Tom Welch (4th cousin)
In Langhorn and Mary, Priscilla explores an incredible true story from our family history. She compellingly relates the effects of societal tensions, love, grief, heartache, compassion, and simply the stresses and joys of everyday life and, through it, we come to know and care for our ancestors as much more than just names and facts in documents and newspaper articles.
★★★★★
Monyeen McCarthy
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2011, Amazon
This story involves the author's family history woven with America's history (“beauty marks,” “warts” and all), so suspenseful yet entertaining it was difficult to put it down! Every family needs an author so dedicated and skillful to write their ancestor's tale, yet this story is unique.
Patricia L. Mervine, M.A., Co-Author, Slavery, Friends, and Freedom in Bucks County
Langhorn and Mary is the compelling true story of a couple whose interracial marriage defied conventions in 19th-century Pennsylvania. A student of local history myself, I was very impressed with Priscilla Stone Sharp’s deep historical research into the lives and era of this African American man and this woman of German heritage, whose love story devolves into a charge of murder. Sharp provides an accurate account of life … in Bucks County, a rural community just outside Philadelphia, as she introduces the reader to the competing factions of the day: their supportive Quaker neighbors who were involved in the anti-slavery movement and Underground Railroad versus the strong undercurrent of racism that tarnished the lives of those who sought a peaceful existence in freedom. She has made forgotten history come alive in a novel that I couldn’t put down.
