The Russellville Democrat., 1880-01-08
SOME CURIOUS MARRIAGES. ITS Notes coucerninga Few of the odd Unions
 That the Newspapers Have Been
S.y- Sunday World. <

The year that IS just drawing to ciose has been prolific of odd items concern- ing marriages. In England, it may be worth saving. the agitation in favor of legalizing marriage between widowers and the sisters of tLeF deceased wives has very nearly been crowned with sue feess. ssAprils21, 869, Mr. Chambers bill to legalize such unions, both retrospec- itiyely and prospectiyely,was passed to a second reading, since then Lord Tough ton has been endeavoring to secure the passage of similar act in the Lords, where now only the votes of the Bishops stand in his way, the measure having the approval of T majority of the Lords temporal, including the Rrincesof Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. The ques- tion of the validity of settlement ex- Iecutedby a gentleman in prospect of his marrIage with his sister-in-law was re- gently before vlee,S Shancell9r Malins, could not according to law be sselmnixed the trust could never arise, and that the property was at the absolute disposal of the testator at the time of said testator's Edeath1 " 8. F. e
 Among the odd marriages of the year decidedly the oldest was that by Elm manuel Swedenbarg, in the Spirit Land, on the goth of June, of Sarah Catherine Eaton, prominent Democratic politici- an of Kansas, and Benjamin Pierce, son of President Pierce. The spirit bride groom was killed in a railroad accident January $, 1853, at the age of twelve. The bride departed this life November 70, lSi5, at the age of six weeks Presi- dent Pierce gave the bride away, who was dressed fin a rote of mudgreen, and among the witnesses of the ceremony were Reyerdy Johnson, Martin fan Buren, Rufus Choate, Stephen A. .Douglas, Winfield Scott, John and Charles Wes- Hey, James K Polk, Zachary Taylor, Lewis Cass and John Casper Lavater. llt may here be said that an enterprising medium improved upon this at St. Louis subsequently, with q spirit divorce easel
 Next to this probably ranks the case of the Rev. Henry J. Munson. an ad-
 veatist preacher, who on July at
 Wore ester, Masss married himself to Hattie A. Eaton.A H.. advertised that on the evening he would preach a.. sermon in three parts, went into the pulpit and preached two divisions about repent ance' and s.holiness or sanetification, then opened tho Bible at Mathew, XIV, and proceeded to read the parable ofthe ten virgins. At the sixth verse, "And 1 at midnight there wasa cry made, be- hold the brideeroom cometh; go out ye 1 to meet him." he stepped down from
 the pulpit and q lady stepped forward from one of the front pews and taking the Bible, continued to read from the seventh to. theTtcnth verses, inclusive Mir. Munson then took the iady's right l hand and said: :C"And snowfbe fore-iod and these witnesses do take this woman | whom hold by the right hand tos be my lawfully welded wife, to love and cherish her as my own body until Christ shall come and claim us with all saints as his own bride or until death shall | part us.r The woman said: And l now l take this man to be my lawfully welded l husband, to love, reverence and obey 1 him until the Lord himself shall de- scend from heaven with the trump of
 God, or till death shall us sever" They | then knelt, and the man offered prayer.
 After prayer Mir. Munson turned to his l desk and closed his discourse by urging the importance of being ready for the
 coming of the Lord. He was arraigned
 before the courts on charge of unlaw- l fill wedlock, under the statute laws for | lewdness, and convicted, but the Supreme Court ordered the verdict to be set aside.
 It was held that no legal or lawful mar
 riage but at the same time the court de | clared that ""the. fact of cohabitation un- | der the honest thought or mistaken belief of the parties that they were lawfully married wlll not support the indictment for lewd and lascivious cohabitation, | though if there was evidence that the
 rehabilitation was under. such clrculnstaii- ces as to create common scandal or cor
 rupt the public morals, the, case would be different. ia @.. .,s .s s-a1lg, seri | "Alluding to this case the Churchman of August 24, safe: 'It recalls a question
 put by an Englsh clergyman to his dio' cesan. the Hon, and Rev. J. T. Pelham
 Bishop of Norwich. Gap marry smy. sclf?' inquired the clergyman, in a lserI
 ous and respectful letter. Can you bury
 yourself q, @as the ,Bishop's curt reply
 and it was certainly decisive. -
 Neverthe.e S&and it is curious that
 Chas. Read overlooked this case-the
 marriage bysfimself. at Cork, November
 e9th. 1901. of the Rev. Samuel Beamisi
 and Isabella Frazer, where he srepeatee
 the service and the only witness was ar
 old woman who, through curiosity, peep
 edin at the window and saw them
 though she heard nothing, was declare'
 legal. ~ " G
 The story of q marriage by proxy
 came out here few months ago. Th'
 Rev. r. J. Schneider, of l58 Allen street
 married Louisa Stahl and John de Wet
 CT, of Rotterdam, Holland, who sen
 over William Pauer with power of at
 torney to conclude the marriage for hin and an injunction to bring the brid back as speedily as possible. The cer tificate was granted to J. w, A. Nlette per Wm. J. Pauer, the clergyman hold
 ing that common people in America ha'
 as much right to marry by proxy q } crowned heads in Europe. Mrs. Nlette wanted afterwards to marry some on , else. and 90 claimed that the marriag was illegal The District Attorney ad ded to the papers an endorsement tha
 the making ofthe report of the marriag
 for record was an oilense under tn
 law. m d uw @
 Marriage sby telegraph has becom - ouitea commmthing in this countr, r On the 22d of May, Mr L. w. Wake t and Miss NJ. E. Buddington were ma - ried, the bride being in the Northwesi f ern Telegraph Coinpany's office at Mi f waulSee, Wls., and the groom in the O t fee at Owatonna, Minn. "rhe cer' e mony," says q local report began at C o'clock, and in very short time tf . couple, having responded to the conui