Eligible bachelors

MADDEN, BUCKHAM, LOVELEE, WATSON, BELDEN, REIGART, DUNHAM, FORT, HOUSE, HUBBARD, SCHRADER, SQUIERS, JOHNSON, BARNES, DOE

Posted By: Anne Hermann (email)
Date: 3/7/2008 at 07:15:46

Jackson Sentinel, January 18, 1872.

“…we have carefully prepared a reference list of all the marriageable old bachelors in the city. And first on the list is-

1. Tim Madden, age about fifty, salesman at L. Cohen’s store. Has been to California, and is supposed to be in comfortable circumstances. Ought to have been married long ago.

2. Wm. Buckham, printed, age 45; little hard of hearing; proposals must be made in a loud tone.
3. David Lovelee, age about 30; butcher by trade, but tender-hearted as a lamb. Will make a good husband.

4. Mott Watson; age somewhere in the forties; occupation private banker; worth 10 or $15,000; would have been married long ago but for his extreme bashfulness; great admirer of the fair sex, however, and would require but little coaxing to bring him up to the mark. A good catch, one of the best in the market.

5. W. S. Belden; age 37; editor by trade; like all his brethren, subject to fits of impecuniosity ; a little wild at times, but not altogether beyond restraint. Has high aspirations-no plebians need apply. Would not be considered a first class article. Physical developments good.

6. Henry Reigart, Cashier of the First National Bank; age uncertain, hair strongly marked with silvery lines, but whether the effect of age or disappointed hopes, are not prepared to say. Is reputed to be worth $15,000 in very hard cash. Habits regular, health is good, appearance robust, and has been called handsome. Is suspicious of the other sex and will have to be approached with much caution, Strictly temperate, but not a teetotaler. Descended from a long line of noble ancestry manifested in his ordinary deportment.

7. L. Dunham, Cashier of the “little bank around the corner”, age 37; has great expectations, but is said to be already spoken for. Would not recommend the expenditure of much time without coming to an understanding.

8. Frank Fort, a promising young lawyer, just beginning business; age 23-one of the youngest on the list; good subject for a long time contract-say one or two years.

9. G. L. Johnson, age 35; law firm of Richman and Johnson; minus an arm, lost in his country’s service, but physically perfect in every other respect. Has lots of property in perspective. Recommend him as a number 1 article.

10. A. J. House, age 25; recently inaugurated Superintendent of Schools; rising young man, and just the kind to tie to. Is an attorney by vocation and well qualified to make his mark professionally and matrimonially.

11. Capt. N. P. Hubbard, shan’t give the Captain’s age for fear of putting it too high and damaging his prospects. Is good for a score of years yet, however, and be a grandfather to boot. Is rich in this world’s goods, and is every way unexceptionable. None better on our list. Is diffident and retiring in the presence of ladies, but we believe would succumb to a well-directed assault.

12. L. V. Schrader, age 24; owns he block named after him; has a comfortable income; is somewhat dilapidated from rheumatism, but can be repaired so as to do pretty effective service yet; is not given to the society of ladies, but can be enticed by the right kind of a bait.

13. John Squires, familiarly known among his lady friends as “Johannes Elongatus”, only thirty-five years of age, and worth not less than $20,000. In the prime of life, and not averse to a matrimonial alliance. Will probably not be in the market four years hence; so there is no time to lose ladies.

14. Cornelius Johnson, age 30, proprietor of a livery stable and abundantly able to support a wife. Is only waiting for a good offer. Apply soon in person or by letter.

15. Jos. Barnes, of Barnes Bros., age about 40; stout, healthy and able to provide for a large family. Rather quiet and reserved, but passionately fond of ladies’ society. Will surrender, we think, without much of a contest.

16. George Doe, age 35, very fond of the ladies, but not decision enough to make up his mind which one to take; wants some brave young lady to walk up boldly to him and say, “George, will you marry me?” Has enough curiosities picked up on the Pacific slope, to begin housekeeping with.