A look back at marriage
The subject of marriage has been much in the news recently. Of course, it has also been the focus of many stories in the past as well. The following selections from the files of this newspaper as well as others are illustrative.
Aug. 19, 1897 – A romantic marriage in good circles took place last night in Pulaski, Tenn. Todd Crow and Effie Morrow, who is a sister of circuit clerk Morrow, defied parental authority and slipped out of state to be wedded quietly while Effie’s parents were wondering what had become of her. The groom is a beardless boy of barely 16 and the bride is a very pretty girl of 18 years. The parents of Miss Morrow are deeply grieved.
May 22, 1899 – Dr. W. E. Hall, a man with a national reputation, having lectured in almost every city in the United States, spoke tonight at Hartselle College on the subject “How to Get Married and Stay So.” It was a splendid programmed and drew a crowd that filled the seating capacity of the chapel hall.
April 16, 1905 – From Marshall County comes news of the elopement of a man who is both a preacher and a schoolteacher with the 17-year-old sister of his wife.
May 26, 1908 – A wedding out of the ordinary took place at the home of Morgan County Probate Judge William E. Skeggs tonight. The groom was John F. Berry and the bride was the widow of Charles M. Lindsey. The romantic part of the story is that the bride and groom had driven in an open buggy through drenching rain. A fire was soon kindled by Judge Skeggs and the bride and groom dried their clothes before the ceremony took place. The judge offered to loan them his surrey, but they said they didn’t care for it as they were already about as wet as it was possible for them to be.
May 16, 1912 – A Falkville man has purchased his fifth marriage license preparatory to taking his latest bride, a widow.
May 16, 1915 – Novie Johnson and Edgar W. Henry, both from Hartselle, were married at the county courthouse in Decatur today. Probate Clerk Frank J. Davis officiated. The bride is 51 and the groom is 60 years of age.
May 5, 1929 – Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Wooten of Helena, Ark., announce the engagement of their daughter, Charlotte Louise, to Rufus Wilson Orr, formerly of Hartselle, the wedding to be in June.
Jan. 27, 1938 – Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Roper, Hartselle 2 celebrated the 60th anniversary of their marriage today. The couple were wed on January 27, 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.
May 12, 1938 – “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife” starring Claudette Colbert is now showing at the Strand Theatre.
Jan. 30, 1947 – Louise Cobb and John Norwood were married tonight at 7 on Decatur’s Princess Theatre stage. The current film is “Marriage Is a Private Affair.”
March 9, 1952 – Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Howell announce that their daughter, Beth, will be married to Horace Broom, son of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Broom, in the spring.
Aug. 20, 1955 – Former Auburn football standout Jimmy Long was in Rossville, Ga., tonight for the wedding of his longtime friend and teammate, Forrest (Fob) James. Fob’s bride is a Morgan County girl, Bobbie Mooney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Mooney. (Fob James is the only man ever to serve as both a Democratic and Republican governor of Alabama.)
April 9, 1959 – The North Hartselle Home Demonstration Club held its March meeting in the home of Mrs. J. M. Garrison. Miss Lucille Hawkins gave the demonstration on “building for marriage.” Mrs. Byrd Dean showed how to use a butter mold for a flower container.
