Iowa
Old Press
Clayton County Register
Elkader, Clayton co. Iowa
Centennial Edition, July 1, 1936
First Known Marriage.
The first known marriage in the county was the wedding
of Berryanrine Stout and War-ma-ne-nah, a Winnebago girl known at
Cassville as the "Prairie Flower." It took place on the
shore of the Mississippi river where the town of Clayton now
stands. The ceremony was performed by Robert R. Read, who
required the bride and groom to join hands and jump over a canoe
paddle, forward and backward, during the time it took the captain
to go through the private ceremony of taking a drink.
First Recorded Wedding.
The first recorded marriage in Clayton cpunty was that
of Thomas B. Walker and Susan E. Lyons, both of Clayton county.
The ceremony was performed October 10, 1839, by Eliphalet E.
Price, then Justice of the Peace.
The second recorded wedding was that of Cyrus Henderson of
Prairie du Chien, and Harriet M. Wells of Clayton county on
Sunday, April 26, 1840. The ceremony took place at the house of
Wm. Walker and was performed by Eliphalet E. Price.
Three Marriages in 1841.
Three marriages took place in 1841 as follows: H. H.
Singer and Martha J. Gould, both of the Boardman settlement,
married March 25; James S. De Palos and Sarah McLelland, of
Clayton county, married at Prairie La Porte Aug. 8 by Rev.
William Simpson; and Alexander O'Neil, of Black River, Wis., and
Elizabeth M. Daudley of Yellow River, Clayton county, married
April 8.
[transcribed by R.R.J., July 2014]