Charles W. Chesnutt

A young woman plans to marry, but her mother and brother--a lawyer--don't like her prospective husband and scheme to prevent the marriage.

Screenplay adapted from Charles Chestnutt's novel.

Rena is a young woman of mixed race. Although she is romantically pursued by an upwardly mobile African American named Frank, Rena does not decide in his favor. Her appearance allows her to pass for white, as she is of majority European ancestry, although she has grown up in the black community. She meets and falls in love with George Tryon, a young white aristocrat. But as their relationship deepens, Rena believes she has to acknowledge her African ancestry. Considered a lost film.

Based on the acclaimed story by Charles Chesnutt published in 1889, "The Sheriff's Children" dramatizes the conflict between duty and family, as a sheriff guarding a prisoner from a lynch mob faces a crisis of conscience.