Connecticut western news., 1884-09-24
BLAINE,s TWO WEDDINGS.
He Says he was Secretly Married In 1850, But Doubling the Validity of the Ger emOny had It Repeated.

The Hon. William Walter Phelps gives to the public the following private letter addressed | to him by Mir. James G. Blaine:
 AUGUSTA, Sept. 6, 1884. My DEAR MIR PHELPS: have your favor Of
 the 4th advising me that "the continuous in- vention and wide circulation of evil reports | render it advisable Gin your judgment) not to
 wait the slow process of the law, but to speak directly to the public in my own vindication." " | In this opinion many others on whose judg- ment I rely concur. l shrink instinctively | from the suggestion, although 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 end less tissue of falsehood. You can imagine how
 inexpressibly painful it must be to discuss
 ones domestic life in the press, although 1
 think with you that under the circumstances could count upon the generosity of the public to justify statement which otherwise
 might seem objectionable. 1 can, in any event, safely commit the fact to you for per sonal communication to those friends who have taken so delicate and 30 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 reply and for the following essen- tial details:
 At Georgetown, Ky, in the spring of 164S,
 when was but IS years of age, first met the lady who for more than 34 years has been my | wife. Our acauaintance resulted at the end of
 six months in an engagement, which, without the prospect of speedy marriage, we naturally 1 sought to keep to ourselves. Two years later, in the spring of 1850, when was maturing plans to leave my profession in Kantucky and establish myself elsewhere, I was suddenly
 summoned to Pennsylvania by the death of my father. It being very doubtful if l could return to Kentucky, was threatened with an | indefinite separation from her who possessed | my entire devotion.
 Mz1 rsah 11 hor- fr, rnva "
 an indissoluble tie against every possible con- | tingency in life, and, on the 30th day Of June, | 1850, just prior to my departure from Ken | lucky, we were, in the presence of chosen and | trusted friends, united by what knew was, in my native State of Pennsylvania, perfectly 1 legal form of marriage. On reaching home found that my family, and especially my l bereaved mother, strongly discountenanced my business plans, as involving too long @ separation from home and kindred. con- | piled with her wish that should resume: at | least for time, my occupation in Kentucky,
 whither returned in the latter part of August. During the ensuing winter, induced by mls- | givingS under new onSlbllltleB-m1sglvlngs | which were increased by legal consultAtions-l
 became alarmed lest doubt might be thrown upon the validity of our marriage by reason of noncompliance with the law of the State where | it had occurred-for I had learned that the 1 laws of Kentucky made license certified by the Clerk of the County Court, an indispen- | sable requisite of legal marriage. After much | deliberatlon, and with an anxious desire to | guard in the most effectual manner against
 any possible embarrassment resulting from our | position-for which l alone was responsible we decided that the simplest and at the same ] time the surest way was to repair to Pennsyl- vania and have another marriage service per | formed.
 This was done, in the presence of witnesses, | in the city of Pittsburg in the month of | March, 1851, but was not otherwise made pub | lie for obvious reasons It was solemnized on- | ly to secure an indisputable validity, the first | marriage being by my wife and myself always held sacred. At the mature age of 64 do not defend the wisdom or prudence of secret | marriage suggested by the ardor and the mex | perience of youth, but it's honor and it's purity were inviolate, as believed, in the sight of God, and cannot be made to appear otherwise | by the wicked devices of men. It brought to me companionship which has been my chief happiness from boyhood's years to this hour, | and has crowned me with whatever of 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 cemetery of his native city, be- meath stone which recorded his name and the | limits of his innocent life. That stone, which
 has stood for almost an entire generation, has been recently defaced by brutal and sacri- | legious hands.
 As candidate for the Presidency, I knew | that should encounter many forms of calum- ny and personal defamation, but confess that did not expect to be called upon to defend the name of beloved and hoHored wife, who
 is 8 mother and 6 grandmother, nor did ex- pect that the grave of my little child would be
 cruelty desecrated Against such gross forms
 of wrong the law gives no adequate redress, | and know that in the end my most effective | appeal against the unspeakabls outrages which | resist must be to the noble manhood and the
 noble womanhood of America.
 Your friend, very sincerely,
 JAMrs q RTAYNr