The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-10-03
Mr.. BLAINE'S MARRIAGE.
Mr. Blaine Tells All About Ais MAI
rage in a letter to William waiter
Phelps.

Phelps.
New YORK, Sept 19-Hon. William Walter
Phelps gives to the public the following pri-
vate letter addressed to him nearly two weeks
ago:
Augusta. Sept. 6, 1SS4-My Dear Mr..
Phelps: l have your favor OF ths 4th' auVs,
mo me that ''the continuous invention and
wide circulation of evil reports render IL al
yisable lin your judgment) not to wait the
slow process of the law, but to speak directly
to the public in my W vlndlcatlon III
this opinion many others, on whose Judg-
ment RELY, concur. 1 shrink instinctively
from the suggestion, although l feel sure l
could strengthen the confidence OF all who
feel friendly to me by bringing to view the
simple thread of truth which is concealed IN
this endless tissue of falsehood. You can
imagine how ineXpressibly painful II must
be TO discuss ones domestic life Ill the press,
although l think with you that under the
circumstances l could count upon the gener-
ositv of the public to justify q statement
which might otherwise seem Objectionable,
I can in any event safely commit the facts TO
you for personal communication to those
friends who have taken so delicate and so
considerate an interest in my affairs. The
leisure hours of to-day, when our campaign
is ended. and we wait only for the election
gives me the opportunity for this prompt re-
ply and for the following essential details:
At Georgetown, KY, in the spring of 1873,
when was but eighteen years of age, ! first
met the lady who for more than thirty four years
has been my wife. Our acquaintance result
ed, at the end of six months, In an en-
gagement which, without prospect Of speedy
marriage, we naturally
SOUGHT TO KEEP TO OURSELVES. &
Two wears later, in the spring of 1880, when
l was maturing plans to leave my profession
in Kentucky and establish myself elsewhere,
/ was suddenly summoned TO Pennsylvania
by the death Of my father, 1t being very
doubtful if l could return to Kentucky, / was
threathened with an indefinite separation from
her who possessed my entire devo-
her to myself by IN indissoluble tie
against every possible contingency in life, and
on the 30th of June, 1850, just prior to my de-
parture from Kentucky, We were, in the pres
ence of trusted friends, united by what knew
vas in my state of Pennsylvania a perfect and
fully legal form of marriage. On reaching
home l found my family, and especially my
bereaved mother, strongly discountenancedmy
business plans as involving too long a separa-
ton from home and kindred / complied with
her wish that | should resume at least for o
time, my occupation in Kentucky, whittier /
returned in the latter part of August. During
the ensuing winter, induced by misgivings
which were increased by legal consultations, /
became alarmed least a doubt might be thrown
upon the validity of our marriage, by rea-
SON of Noncompliance with the law of
the state where it had occurred for
/ had learned that the laws of Kentucky made
a license, certified by the clerk of the county
court, an indispensable requisite of q legal
marriage. After much deliberation and with
an ardent desire TO guard in the most effectual
manner against any possible embarrassment
resulting from our position, for which / alone
was responsible, we decided that the simplest
and at the same time surest way, was to repair
to Pennsylvania and have another marriage
service performed. This was done in the pres
ence of witnesses, in the city of Pittsburg, in
the month of March, 1851, but was not other
wise made public for obvious reasons. 1t was
solemniZed only to procure an ~indisputable
validity, the first marriage being by my wife
and myself always held sacred At the ma
ture age Of fifty-four / do not defend the wis
dom or prudence of a secret marriage, sug-
gested by the
ARDoR AND -INExPERIENcE OF
but it's honor and its purity were i~nviolate as
[ believe in the sight of God, and cannot be
made to appear otherwise by the wicked devices
of men. 1t brought to me a companionship
which has been my chief happiness from boy
hoods years to this hour, and has crowned me
with whatever success / have attained In life.
My eldest child, a son, was born in his grand
mothers house on the 18th day of June, 1851, in
the city of Augusta, Me-, and died in her arms
three years later. His ashes repose in the ceme-
terry of his native city, beneath a stone which
recordedhis name and the limits of his innocent
life. That stone which had stood for almost an
entire generation, has been recently defaced
by brutal and sacrelIgious hands. AS a
candidate for the presidency / knew that /
should encounter many forms of calumny
and personal defamation, but / confessI did
not expect to be called upon to defend the
name of a beloved and honored wife, who is a
mother and a grandmother, nor did / expect
the grave of my little child would be cruelty
desecrated. Against such gross forms Of
know that in the end my most effective appeal
against the unspeakable outrages I resist,
must be to the noble manhood and the noble
womanhood of America -Your friend, very sim
cerely,