Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-03-07
Marrying a Nobleman.

Nesting on the banks of the Esonr.
Creek. at its confluence with the H gpd
son. it's dong dock" cleaving the shat
lows of the river for half a mile, and
ssaugerties light standing like a faithful
sentinel at its water gate, beautiful for
situation in its environment of NOM.
tain, valley and river, and the joy a.
many a loving and loyal heart, old
Saucerties presents an inviting felI |
for Investigation alike to the lover ~
natural beauty, the antiquarian and tba
busting utilitarian, intent only upon
the excitement and business of tbs
present day. Here the storied Catskills
with lordly curve, sweep nearest tha
Hudson: here are the foot hills, NINA.
ture mountains, forest crowned and
beautiful; here are lovely reaches
where for many miles the eye may See
the flashing river with its ever chang,
ing panorama, and here does our own
Esopus linger at our feet in its journey
from its far away mountain home
And what wealth of antiquarian relic
and lore may not be found in the low.
proved and b~road-beamed old stone
mansions that so plentifully abound;
relics of the old colonial days, the birth.
places and homes of the ancestors
of many of our present inhabi.
| tants. around whose memories ars
woven many a weird and %fanciful tals|
of romance, adventure and danger.
Stories of the dark and bloody days wheu|
our beautiful borders were the covers
and In king places of savage beasts
and still more savage tribes, and when
every mans house was really his castle
where. when occasion required, he could
from within the stout Topped wills rene|
an attack and defend his dear ones. In
these old and h%ospitable homes dwelt the
kiersteps, the O~vcrbaughs, the Mynder.
ses and the Shoonmakers. Some old Ho!-
landers from the Zuyder Zee, some Of
German descent, some refugees from
the Rhine and Palatinates, with here
and there a sturdy Hessian hirelinc
who. finding it impossible to conquer
the new country, found it a pleasans
place to settle in; these and many 9th.
crs found homes in the shadows OF our
mountains and by the side of II river,
and their descendants form a large and
influential portion of our population 10,
dav. A recent event in the Schoonma-
ker family has directed attention to the
fact that its accomplished daughter,
Miss Leda NJ. Schoonmaker, had weddea
q distinguished German nobleman, and
become Countess of Crockow. 1t may
interest your readers to hear the roman.
tic story Of this Young American girl,
who, impelled by desire for greater
educational advantages and culture
than her OWE home afforded, crossed
the ocean, entered a school for the edu.
cation OF young ladies, under the pat
ronage of the Empress of Germany, who
became her friend, and favored her with
an autograph letter of womanly sympa-
thy. In time she became the protege
of the Countess of Crockow, a lady Of
wealth and high position, who wished
to adopt her as her own; but the young
girl yearned for her own friends and
her pleasant home on the Hudson, and
returned, enriched by her experience Of
foreign travel, to win distinguished hon
ors in the literary world, becoming the
center of a large and admiring circle OF
friends, a regular attendant of the
church of her ancestors and a faithful
teacher in the Sunday-school. After
the death Of the Countess, and the ap.
propriate period of mourning had ex.
pred, the bereaved nobleman longed
for the sympathy and companionship Of
the young American, and offered to
share with her his rank and fortune, an
offer to which she did not lend q deaf
ear, and so the piquant, graceful and
agreeable Saugerties girl is now Coun,
tess of Crockow, with all the honors
and dignities which the name implies.
-Saugcrtics a. ~ Cor. Albany jour
nal.