New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-05-19
Winona MINI. MAY 18th, 18

V1uOua With WAY 1Otn, 1000.
Ed. Review:-Your recent columns
contain such words as farce .'wick-
ed imposition insult and Cow
ardly fraud,'' and they are all used
with reference to me and to nv recent
marriage. You use one of the terms
editorially, Mr.. Mowery uses others,
and supposed committee Of forty-nine
alleged prominent citizens seem to con-
slider such terms to be demanded by the
occasion. My wife's mother and her hus-
band furnish statement in card form,
which CATER investigation is pro-
nounced to be true by Mr.. Mowery and
thereupon various persons, perhaps
many of them with good intentions,
come to the hasty and unwarranted
conclusion that something heinous has
been done, and that all persons but my
self are innocent, and that am vile in
deed.
All the people of your city are repre-
sented as being grievously wronged, by
me, in a matter that did not concern
them all, and in two issues of the Re-
view it is made to appear that an out
ragged community are arrayed against
me. These matters are private matters
or should be, and l cannot convince
myself that they properly belong to the
newspaper, or to the world at large,
but the charges have gone wherever the
Review circulates, and in justice to my
friends and to myself this statement
should follow in the same quarters.
Even among the forty-nine prominent
citizens (whose identity do not know
and who are acting as a committee (for
whom nobody knows) and who de-
nounce my conduct as cowardly fraud
there may be some fair-minded enough
to give heed to a straightforward state
ment of undeniable facts.
1t is we'll known that the Catholic
church requires its members to be mar
ried by priest, if at all. In this re-
gard l encountered serious opposition.
It is not necessary for the purposes Of
this letter to state from whom the OPP
position proceeded, but it was serious.
1t was therefore arranged that q priest
should assist at the first marriage, out
of regard for my wishes, and that my
wife's pastor, Mr.. Mowery, should Off
ciate at the Protestant ceremony, in
Difference to the desires Of my wife and
her mother. This seemed to be as sat-
isfactory as could be under the circum-
stances. 1t is not agreeable to either
of us, but nothing else seemed possible.
wrote to Mr.. Mowery saying that I
was requested to ask him to perform
the evening ceremony. [ wrote to my
wife asking whether had better ex-
plain the matter to him, or whether she
would do it. She answered under date
of April Goth to the effect that she
would rather tell him, but that her
mother did not want her to, and there
fore she would not Mrs. Ross was
connected with the Congregational Sun
day school, and was on terms of init
macy with Mr.. Mowerys family. !
knew it and was guided by what she
seemed to wish. 1 thought she would
advise nothing obnoxious to him, and
accepted her suggestion, and gave no
further thought to the matter. | now
understand Mrs. Ross statement to be
that she did not know the first ceremo-
nv would constitute q legal marriage;
that she thought it was to be simply q
matter of form, and that therefore il
need not be announced to any one. The
question of the legality Of the first cere
mony was never mentioned. The cere.
monies were always referred to as the
first ceremony, and the second ceremo
ny. Nothing was ever said or writer
that have ever heard of, to the effec
that either ceremony, without the Other
would not constitute q legal marriage
| knew it would, and | believe it il
almost universally known that a mar
riage ceremony, between persons com
petent to contract marriage, is recog
nized as valid in any church form.
never conveyed or sought to convey t.
any one the impression that it would b.
otherwise.
T never mentioned the matter to Mr.
Ross, nor did ever write to him abou
) it, or he to me. The matter was neve
discussed by me in his presence, nor b,
him in mine. He seems to have ha'
the same opinion of it that Mrs. Ros
had. But he did not get his impress
sion from me. I am at a loss to know
where the opinion was had. These ar
I rangements were made by correspond
e ence between Mrs. Randall and myself
and not otherwise, and no member Q
my family or anyone else had anythin
, to do with them. [ caused t
= be procured and furnished to each clel
5 gyman duplicate license, and blan
for his return. AS the second ceremc
ny was desired supposed a record {
;. it would be desired also. | have mad
no false statement, nor have | tried
deceive any one. Altogether ten pei
sons who were present at the secon
ceremony were present at the first. Tn
v clerk of court who had recorded th
priests return was present. Many otf
J ers had seen the record, or knew {
/ the first ceremony. and some of thel
are members of Mr.. Mowery's congrt
cation, as am told. Most of thos
L who did not know of it, had heard r,
q port Of it. Mr.. Mowery afterward tol
It me that he had heard the runnor, bl
/ that he placed no reliance in it.
In what shape it came to him ! d
not know; but the room was full of pc.
y pie who knew the rumor to be true.
mere inquiry was all that was nece