Zora Neale Hurston Husband: Her Marriages and Personal Life Explained

If you’re searching Zora Neale Hurston’s husband, you’re likely trying to understand a lesser-known side of one of America’s most influential writers. Zora Neale Hurston is celebrated for her literary achievements, especially Their Eyes Were Watching God, yet her personal life—particularly her marriages—is often summarized briefly or inconsistently across sources. She did marry, more than once, but none of those marriages defined her life or endured for long. What follows is a clear, well-organized look at who her husbands were, when those marriages occurred, and why the details can sometimes seem confusing online.

Was Zora Neale Hurston Married?

Yes. Zora Neale Hurston was married three times, according to widely accepted biographical and archival records. Her husbands were:

• Herbert Sheen

• Albert Price III

• James Howell Pitts

What’s important to note from the start is that all of Hurston’s marriages were relatively brief. She spent the majority of her adult life unmarried and deeply focused on her work as a writer, folklorist, and anthropologist. Her legacy is built on intellectual independence rather than domestic partnership.

Her First Husband: Herbert Sheen

Zora Neale Hurston’s first husband was Herbert Sheen, the most consistently documented of her spouses. Biographical sources often describe Sheen as a jazz musician and someone connected to Hurston’s academic and cultural circles. Some accounts also note that he later became a physician.

This marriage stands out mainly because it appears in several reliable archives with specific dates and locations, making it easier to verify than her later marriages.

The First Marriage Timeline

Hurston married Herbert Sheen on May 19, 1927, in St. Augustine, Florida. This date is supported by university archives and historical records associated with Hurston’s life and work.

The marriage did not last long. Most sources place the end of the relationship in the early 1930s, commonly citing 1931 as the year the marriage ended. Some records provide an exact divorce date, while others only list the year. This variation reflects how historical documents are preserved and summarized rather than true disagreement over the event itself.

The takeaway is simple: Hurston’s first marriage occurred during a formative period in her career and ended after only a few years.

The Second Husband: Albert Price III

Hurston’s second husband was Albert Price III. This marriage is often mentioned briefly in biographies, usually without much personal detail about Price himself. Unlike Sheen, Price does not appear prominently in Hurston’s letters, essays, or later reflections, which contributes to the limited information available.

Most sources agree that Hurston married Price in 1939, during a period when she was working on projects tied to the Federal Writers’ Project and other New Deal–era cultural initiatives.

The End of the Price Marriage

While the marriage to Albert Price III is usually dated to 1939, records show that the divorce was not finalized until 1944. This gap explains why some sources list different end dates. In many historical cases, couples separated long before their divorces were legally completed, especially when careers, finances, or geographic distance complicated the process.

Rather than indicating conflicting information, the variation reflects different points in the same legal timeline: marriage, separation, and final divorce.

The Third Husband: James Howell Pitts

Hurston’s third and final husband was James Howell Pitts. This marriage occurred in January 1944 and ended later that same year. It is widely described as her shortest marriage.

Archival timelines, including those from major research libraries, note that Hurston married Pitts early in 1944 and divorced him by October of the same year. Genealogical records often provide a specific wedding date—January 18, 1944—along with a Florida location.

By this stage in her life, Hurston was already an established writer, though she was also facing financial and professional challenges. The brevity of this marriage further supports the broader pattern seen throughout her life: personal relationships did not take precedence over her work or independence.

What Her Marriages Reveal About Her Life

When looking at Zora Neale Hurston’s marriages, it’s important not to overinterpret them. Many biographies mention her husbands briefly and then move quickly back to her writing, fieldwork, and cultural contributions. That emphasis reflects how Hurston herself appeared to live.

She traveled extensively, conducted ethnographic research, immersed herself in Black Southern folklore, and pursued creative projects that required mobility and autonomy. Long-term domestic life may simply not have aligned with the way she worked or viewed herself.

Rather than suggesting instability, her brief marriages point to a woman who prioritized intellectual freedom and personal purpose in a time when that choice was far from easy—especially for a Black woman in early 20th-century America.

Why Marriage Dates Often Appear Inconsistent

If you’ve noticed different marriage or divorce dates depending on the source, there are a few practical reasons for that:

First, not all sources use the same standards. Academic archives and university projects often focus on major life events tied to Hurston’s work, while genealogy databases may list precise civil record dates.

Second, legal processes matter. Separation, filing for divorce, and final divorce are not the same thing, and different sources may reference different stages.

Third, many summaries compress timelines for simplicity. Listing “married in 1939, divorced in 1944” is accurate, even if the couple separated earlier.

These differences don’t usually signal errors—they reflect how historical information is preserved and summarized.

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