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         The first wedding from Cedar County occurred in the Spring of 1837. The parties to the contract were Washington A. Rigby and Miss Lydia Barr. Cedar County was not fully organized at the time, and the nearest license station was Muscatine, whither on the day appointed went Mr. Rigby and his intended wife, accompanied by John Barr and Miss Mary Setford (now Mrs. James Foy, of Cedar Rapids), James Stone and Elenor Knott (who died unmarried in 1844). . . .

Pg 445

. . . Their conveyance was by Harvey Burnap’s two-horse spring wagon. There was but one hotel in Muscatine at that time, and that was a rude log concern, with but few rooms, and all of them were occupied. The hotel was kept by a man named Kinney, who received the wedding company with courtly consideration, and regretted his inability to provide better accommodations than his log hotel afforded. The Clerk and some one authorized to solemnize marriages were inquired for and pointed out. The license was issued by John S. Abbott, the first Clerk of Muscatine County. John G. Coleman was a Justice of the Peace, and he was called to tie the silken knot—to legally unite “two hearts that beat as one.” In the meantime, the young men boarders got wind of the occasion that called so many of the Cedar County young folks to Muscatine, and, in a body kindly tendered them their sleeping quarters—one room--in the upper part of Kinney’s log hotel. The offer was accepted, the ceremony was pronounced, congratulations were tendered, and the evening passed right merrily. But bed time came, the bride and groom were shown to their nuptial couch—a shake down on the floor above, which was reached by rude stairs, but little better than a common step ladder. Then the other parties followed to the same room, the girls going first and “doubling” in the bed or shake down assigned to them. Then went the boys, three of them, and “thribbled” in the bed set apart for them. Such was the bridal chamber occupied by Washington A. Rigby and his wife on the night of their marriage—but a happier, merrier, honester wedding party never went from Cedar County to Muscatine or any other city. The story, however, is not all told. In descending the bluffs that overlook Muscatine, one of the hind wheels of Burnap’s buggy broke down, and left the party in a “fix,” apparently. But Burnap was equal to the occasion. There were no carriage or wagon shops in Muscatine then, but the adjacent groves furnished the means of remedying the difficulty. A pole was cut from a suitably sized sapling. The large end of the sapling was fastened on the forward axletree, and the other end so adjusted that the broken axletree rested upon it. The temporary repair completed, and an early breakfast eaten, the weddingers piled into the crippled buggy and came home on a slide.