St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-03-10
OLD SQUIRE 6EASLEY.
1hs OmciattnG GeHtus ut the FamOu
Gresna Green nj America.

OLD SQUIRE eEASLEY.
Ihs Officiating t;~ntus nj the FamOuA
Gretna Green nj America.
The village If Aberdeen. O.. directly
opposite this city. has become famous
within the last quarter Of century rs
the Gretna Green Of America. More
couples are married there i'm year
than in many large cities Of the coun-
try. h is the haven Of runaway lovers
from Kentucky. although couples go
there from Ohio. Indiana, Illinois. and
even New York. Aberdeen is pretty
place Of about nine hundred inhabit-
ants. 1t is situated on the Ohio river.
sixty-one miles above Cincinnati. and
is reached by steamer and ferry
boat. The town is - leading tobacco
market. Runaway marriages have be-
come so frequent ut Aberdeen that the
people pay no attention to them. There
Me sometimes six or seven weddings q
day. The veteran marrying Squire is
Massie Beasley. who is now seventy
seven years old. He has held his pres
cnt Office continuously for twenty years.
and ID always reelected without Oppo-
sition. Every grade of society appears
before Squire BeasIey to have the hy-
mcneal knot tied. He is a good-hearted
old fellow. and if the pair have no
money to pay the fee. which is often
the case. be dismisses them with his
blessing. Some Of the couples arrive
in carriages and arc dressed in silks
and broadcloth. Others enter his Office
barefooted and in rags. but the Squire
never turns them away. no matter how
forlorn or pitiable their condition. He
marries people at the dead Of night
when they are in hurry to escape the
wrath Of pursuing fathers or brothers.
Squire Beasley's Office has furnished
many sensations which never got into
the newspapers. On two or three oc-
casions the wedding has been harshly
interrupted by the arrival of pursuers
Just in time to prevent the ceremony.
The age Of applicants for his services
makes no difference to MIR. Beasley.
He has united boys of thirteen and
girls of eleven. but up to this time he
has never been involved in any trouble.
The Oldest pair to enter matrimony be.
fore the marrying Squire was . man
Of eighty and a woman Of scventy-twO.
1t had been a wonder how many mere
children could be welded without
making the justice liable to fine and
imprisonment. 1t seems that Beasley
is law unto himself. He asks no
questions. and aims to make every body
happy without regard to age or color.
Most of his patrons are from Kentucky.
and the marriage laws OF that State
are decidedly crude and indefinite.
Within the last five years West Virginia
has sent many Of her young people to
Aberdeen to be married. Squire
Beasley has tied the knot for Ass
couples in the sixteen years of his
career in that time. His predecessor.
Squire Shelton. who has been dead
many years. married 5000 couples in
his life. In thirty years nearly 10000
pairs of lovers have bsen made happy
or miserable in Aberdeen.
Squire Beasley is youthful in spirits.
being man Of fine social qualities.
His Office is at his residence. a two
story brick. Just on the outskirts of the
town. There. with his only son. Cap
tain Tom Beasley. he keeps bachelor s
hall. The room used for matrimonial
purposes is large and attractive. 1t
contains an old-fashioned bookcase
and table. cozy arm-chairs. abedstead.
and the 'Squire's pet hooking bird
The experiences of Mr.. Bcasley prove
that people will undergo almost any
hardship to get married. The rum
aways knock at his doors at all hours
Of the night in the worst of weather.
They come on horseback and on foot
frequently being only few minutes
ahead OF the Infatuated father.
The records of the 'Squire's Office
show that Lewis County, Kentucky,
sends the most runaways to Gretns
Green. although every county in that
State is well represented in his register.
Ohio couples are required to produce a
license. and in this way Mr.. Beasley
saves himself from being amenable to
the laws of that State.
Although Squire Beaslcy is . jovial
fellow. he is aggravstingly reticent
about his career as dispenser Of mat
rimonial bonds He has refused re-
peatedly to be interviewed on the sub
ject and will not have his picture taken.
The Squire keeps his records. not in q
book. but on slips of paper. He says
it is nobody's business who the people
are that come to him to get married.
and he will not reveal any of the many
interesting secrets Of which he is the
possesssor. A newspaper man once
offered him 100000 for two Of his
pictures and an interview. but he posi-
lively declined to consider the PROPOSE
ton. Mr.. Beasley has made several
thousand dollars IS the result of his
reputation as the marrying Squire Of
America.-Maysuilte. (Ky.) Coz. CAi.
cago Tribune.
Who Struck Billy Patterson.
About forty years ago. at one Of the
medical colleges of this country, the