| Muscatine County, Iowa | |
Muscatine Journal & News-Tribune
Centennial Edition
31 May 1940
Section 5 - Page 13, Submitted by Charlene Nichols Hixon, May 26, 2012
Ye Editor Eloquently Writes of “Weddings” But Items Were Terse To brides-elect –
To brides of a few and longer years –But especially to the brides who have passed the coveted golden anniversary era – This item, titled, “The Wedding,” printed in the Bloomington Herald of jan. 22, 1841 should prove entrancing.
It was apparently considered an important matter to the editor of that long ago era for it merited a front page position along with news of local and national import. Here it is, in its original printed form:
“Pain - - and Pleasure.”
“A wedding is a ceremony of mingled pain and pleasure, in which anticipation prevents the pain from being positive pain and recollection precludes the possibility of unmixed pleasure. The very bells, merry as their peals are intended to be, convey a tender melancholy, which is to us inseparable from the sound of a village belfry, whatever be the occasion for their being put in motion.
“Then the banquet, the wit and the repartee, the jokes are not continuous – a little life sprinkled upon the surface of the conversation – but like the effervescence of the champaign, which fills the glasses of the party, it soon subsides into somber tranquility.
“There are anxious hearts under smiling countenances. The parents look to their daughter and feel how great, how rich a treasure they are losing, and confiding to another’s care. Their minds glance back to her days of infancy, and the progress of her childhood, and now dwell with anxious solicitude upon her entrance into the duties of womanhood. None but a parent can know what parents feel upon an occasion like this.
“And Grateful Spirit.” “And then the bride, gazing with an affectionate filial and grateful spirit upon the faces of those under whose parental kindness she has been fostered, still trembling at the magnitude and irrevocability of the step she has taken, and which must give color to her whole existence.
“Then turning her eyes upon her new made husband with a glance which seems to say – and now I must look for ‘husband, parent, all in you.’ The reciprocal glance reassures her – she drinks in confidence and reliance as her eye bends beneath his – a thousand new feelings agitate her bosom and anticipation gets the better of recollection. The future for a moment banishes the past, and she feels secure on the new throne which she has erected for herself in the heart of a man to whom she has confided her happiness – her all.”
Brief and terse were these marriage stories printed in the Bloomington Herald in issues of the year 1841 and later. Under date of Jan. 22, 1841:
Married – In Burlington on Monday evening 18th inst., by the Rev. Mr. Stewart, Mr. Lemuel Parkhurst, of Berling, Scott county, to Miss Mary E. Davison of this place.
At Iowa City, on the 24th inst., by A. D. Stephens, Esq. Mr. William Murdock, to Miss Sarah A. Abel, all of that place.
On the same day by A. D. Stephens, Esq., Mr. Ely Myers to Miss Augusta Kidder, all of that place.
On the 1st inst., by the same A. D. Stephens, Mr. E. K. Mose to Miss Esther Cox, all of that place.
And on varied other dates:
In St. Louis on Thursday evening 14th inst., by the Rev. Mr. Mullard, Mr. Willis Hollingsworth, of this place, to Miss Caroline A. Austin of that city – April 22, 1842.
MARRIED – On Wednesday morning, last, 17th, inst., by the Rev. Mr. Stocker, Theodore S. Parvin, attorney at law, to Miss Agnes McCully, all of this place. 1842.
MARRIED – At Dubuque, Ia., on Wednesday 18th inst., by the Rev. Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Thomas Hughes, publisher of this paper, to Miss Louisa C. F. King, of the former place. (Friday, Sept. 24, 1841.)
MARRIED – On Monday evening, 12th inst., by T. S. Parvin, Esq., Mr. Adolph Hoffmeyer to Miss Catherine Fryberger, all of this place. Sept. 16, 1842.
MARRIED – On Wednesday evening last, by the Rev. Mr. Stocker, Mr. George W. Martin to Miss Mary Ann Magoon, all of this place and vicinity. Sept. 16, 1842.
* * * * * * * On this date (April 1, 1907) Muscatine County Supervisors voted unanimously to hold a special election May 7 on the question of levying a special tax of two mills on court house bonds until paid for. The supervisor’s action followed a mass meeting of citizens which passed resolutions that “preservation of county records and due dispatch of public business,” demanded erection of a new court house and jail at a cost not to exceed $150,000. Canvass of the vote cast May 7 showed 1,810 votes for the court house and 1,306 against it; 1,612 for the jail and 1,376 against it.
* * * * * * * There were 252 battles of the Civil War. Seventy-nine of them were fought in Virginia; 37 in Tennessee; 35 in Missouri; 14 in Kentucky; 12 in Georgia; eleven in North Carolina; ten in South Carolina; seven in Alabama, five in Florida; one in Indian Territory; one in New Mexico and in a northern state, at Gettysburg. This included 16 naval engagements. – From The Journal.
* * * * * * * Iowa’s state flower is the wild rose. The 26th General Assembly, in extraordinary session, made the designation and the resolution was adopted may 7, 1897. Legislaturs specified no particular species of wild rose, but it is believed they had in mind the “Wild Prairie Rose” or Rosa Pratincola, because it is most common and most widely distributed in the state. – Iowa Official Register, 1935-36.
* * * * * * * The eastern Goldfinch (Spinus Tristis Tristis) is the state bird of Iowa. Commonly known as the wild canary it was selected by the 45th General Assembly by a concurrent resolution adopted March 22, 1933. Brightyellow with black wings, tail and top of head distinguish the male while the female is similarly marked, but not so brilliant. They are most common in the southern part of the state. – Iowa Official Register 1935-36.
* * * * * * * “The first raft of the season passed down the river by this place yesterday, with the stars and stripes floating in the breeze.” – Muscatine Journal, April 18, 1861.
* * * * * * * John Brown and party left Springdale for Chatham, Canada West, where they drew up the constitution of the government they expected to found of freed slaves. That done, they separated but met again about 18 months later for the attack at Harper’s Ferry, Va. – April 27, 1858.
* * * * * * * A petition was being circulated asking the city council to refuse to license saloons; or, if they were licensed, to raise the price to $200. Also to require those who recommend the licenses of saloons to be residents of the immediate neighborhood. The petition was signed by men and women. – April 2, 1878
* * * * * * * “Emigrants are flocking to the west by scores, by hundreds, by thousands. We understand that boats from Ohio river come into St. Louis literally crowded with families seeking new homes on the western prairies. Many reach our place and locate in town or go back into the country. We are glad to see them coming. An industrious population is all that is required to make Iowa one of the richest countries in the world.” – Muscatine Journal under date of April 28, 1843.
* * * * * * * “An exchange says the short walking dress for ladies is rapidly coming into use. Aside from giving its possessor the opportunity to exhibit a pretty foot without making a show of it, this sensible fashion has two other advantages. It gives ladies the full use of both hands while walking and enables them to go home with decently clean underskirts.” – Journal, April 13, 1898.
* * * * * * * “Two dirty men were exhibiting a large cinnamon bear on the street today, creating much fun for the boys. Mr. Broomhall’s horse, standing in front of Rev. A. B. Robbins became frightened and almost ran away.” The Journal editor suggested that the police “bounce” the men out of town if they try to remain overnight. – April 15, 1878.
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Took Vows in 1847
Photo of Samuel Sinnett and Mrs. Samuel SinnettDublin, Ireland, was the birthplace of Samuel Sinnett on March 17, 1817 and he emigrated to Muscatine in 1839, while his wife, the former Sarah Knox, was born in Washington, Ind., Oct. 22, 1820. Their marriage took place on Oct. 31, 1847. Mr. Sinnett died Nov. 29, 1899 and Mrs. Sinnett on Nov. 13, 1897.
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