Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Wedding Wednesday - February Weddings in My Family Tree



Out of 40 couples in my family tree who were married in the month of February, only one couple chose Valentine's Day to get married.  February 21st and February 27th are the most popular days in February in my family, tied at 4 couples each marrying on those days.

On February 4, 1879, my maternal third Great Grandfather Hartwell "Jack" Spann married for a second (or third?) time at "age 66" (truth be told, he was older).  He married Susan A Culver, who at age 56 was marrying for the first time.  Their marriage record has been transcribed and is online at the Wayne County, Kentucky Genweb site.  Unfortunately, the record for his first marriage in about 1820 to my 4th Great Grandmother, Mary ?, is not online anywhere that I have found.  They were my Great Grandma Allie Spann's Grandparents.

Also on my maternal side I have found records online for two ancestors of my Great Grandma Sadie Negley.  My sixth Great Grandparents, Mordecai Hall and Sarah Vines married on February 21, 1744.  St Margaret's Westminster Parish in Anne Arundel County, Maryland was the site.  I don't know how many years they were married because I don't know when either of them passed away.  

My seventh Great Grandparents, John Foster and Elizabeth Greene, were married February 15, 1703 at St Barnabus Church in Prince George's County, Maryland.  He died when he was only 32 years old, giving them only about 17 years together.

On my Dad's side of the family tree a couple of my Seventh Great Grandparents chose February wedding dates.  James Hosmer and Elizabeth Sawyer married on February 16, 1686 in Concord, Massachusetts.  They were married at least 20 years and had 9 children. 

William Harlow and Mercy Rider were married on February 24, 1714 or 1715, together for at least 37 years.  The marriage took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts where Mercy's second Great Grandfather, Richard Warren arrived on the Mayflower.

Wilhemus Fero and Geertruy Van Vracken, my fifth Great Grandparents, were married on  February 27, 1791 at the Schenectady Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York.  I don't have their death dates.  

My husband's Great Grandparents, Robert I Boone and Elizabeth Johnson, were married on February 3, 1874 in Nelson County, Kentucky.  They were married for 26 years. Their marriage certificate is online at familysearch,org.

Several of these marriages occurred during Colonial times.  I won't pretend to know a lot about weddings during that time, but I know they weren't quite as elaborate as they are today.   It would be interesting to know more details about the ceremony, the flowers, the clothes they wore and if and how they decorated.  And whether or not the bridesmaids wore red.






4 comments:

  1. Biographies I've read from that time period indicate that weddings were typically simple. Often held in the home of parents or close friends. The only flowers might be the bride's bouquet. You wouldn't see too many Bridezillas in Colonial Times!

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  2. Can you imagine the language! "I doth protest!" Ha Ha Thanks for reading Donna! And thanks for being my Maid of Honor!!

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  3. I also have John Foster and Elizabeth Greene as generational great grandparents on my fathers side of the family.

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    1. You and I are just a couple of the many descendants of John & Elizabeth Foster. Thanks for reading!

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