Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-09-04
Squire Beasley's Record.

Squire Beasley's Record.
He has tied the knot for 4, 076 couples
during nineteen years. This is the rec
ord OF Squire Massie Beasley, Who
lives at Aberdeen, just opposite Nay
Vile, KY, the important point in many
. romance, the Gretna Green of Ken
tuoky. Just think Of It'll Hearts to the
number of 6. 152 made, at least tempo
rarily, happy. And yet, through all
of these dramatic climaxes, says the
Philadelphia Record, in which he has
played the necessary role, Squire Beaa-
ley has never caught the fever of tha5
passion without which he would b
minus his present unique distinction.
When he first assumed the Office Of Jus
tice Of the peace he was ffty-four years
old. bachelor, and, possibly, in con-
sequence, quite a philosopher. And
now, at the rugged old age Of seventy
three, it Is with a certain reflective sat-
isfao&ion that he gazes down the long
vista Of united hearts and feels a kindly
sense of relationship to a generation Of
young people, who may in turn be the
recipients Of his kind offices.
Contented, though unmarried, the
only thing he has to lean upon in his
declining days is staff about eight feet
long, which he uses when walking.
There is a world Of speculation in his
completed labors Many Of the rosy knots
OF his tying may have grown to yokes.
OF thorns. All Of life is uncertainty,
and marriage as a life itself is thing
beyond precision. That is the way
Squire Beasley resolves it in his philos-i
ophy. Marriage" says he, sis either,
freedom or slavery, and very often an
unpleasant mixture of both"
But in spite of this the old MANS
heart Is full of kindness and sympathy,
and many there are who recall him with
gratitude. His life is simple. he lives in
IN unpretentious two-story brick house.
There Is an old-style portico in front Of
the building. which in it's plain severity
seems to reflect the owners personality.
On entering the visitor finds himself In
. large, airy room, in which is the old
time high mantel-piece and spacious
backlog fireplace. This room serves
the Squire as his bedroom and Office.
Its furniture consists of an old-fashioned
four-poster bed, with bedding piled upon
1t to such a height that man of legs
with ordinary length would have to use
q step-ladder to get into 1t, a number of
splint-bottom chairs, ssgrandfather's"
clock in one corner and several we'll
worn law books upon the mantel-piece.
The Squire talks entertainingiy, and
his native shrewdness gives bright
ness and originality to his conversation.
He Is an exception to the old adage Of
exceedingly popular in Aberdeen, not
alma hooar1en Of hic rocord II
Beas1ey attends to the ordinary duties
incumbent upon justices of the peace.
He has held his Office for the past nine
teen years without at any time having
to undergo the chances of reelection or
defeat. The constitution of this State
provides that a justice of the peace shall
hold his Office during the term for
which he has been elected, or until his
successor has been elected and qualified.
No one ever having offered himself as a
candidate for the SquireS position, that
gentleman has never seen fit to present
himself for reelection, but has held on
up to the present time, and will probahy
die in harness.
There can be no reflection upon the
SquireAs marriages, and even their dis
patch can prove no legal objection.
They are all valid, and just as good for
practical purposes as if performed by an
Archbishop. This point was settled to
the satisfaction of runaway couple some
time ago. when the Supreme Court of this
State decided that Squire BeasleY s
marriage should stand. He does not
require persons to produce licenses be-
fore uniting them in marriage. but DIS
penses altogether with that document sc
necessary to candidates for matrimonial
bliss in other places.
Squire Beasley does not see why a
license should have to be obtained by
persons wishing to marry any moro than
by persons wishing to enter into any
other sort of contract; TIL at persons go
ing before an authorized officer and de-
claring their intention thereafter to
live together as man and wife are as
validity married as though they had first
procured license. Upon being asked
what fees he usually received for marry
ing, he stated that he got every price
from THANK We" up to $50.
"You know" he said, when a poor
couple apply to me haven't the heart
to ask them for any thing, burt when q
couple come to me from the Blue Grass
region of Kentucky, where they raise
fast horses and have good bank &C
u ho- 4