The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-02-20
SPOILED A MARRIAGE.


bnrrassing Position.
The Lithuanian church ON South Jardiu
street was the scene of remarkable occur
renee Monday night. The illustrated news
papers frequently publish accounts of sensa-
tional occurrences at church affairs, depicting
the sudden appearance Of some interested
party i'm the nick of time TO prevent a mar
riage and therefore the subject TO the world
at large, is not % new one, but it is u novelty
i'm this town. There is no previous case on
the local records in which a bride and bride
groom have met with contention at the
altar.
lu this case the principal characters are
Miss Ella Lukus, her step-father, George
Sockalosliy, the saloonkeeper of West Coal
street, and Joseph Antinowicz, the bride
groom. The facts of the case, briefly, are
that when the couple stood at the altar,
ready to be made man and wife, the step
father appeared and spagged the matri-
monial wheel with the claim that the in
tended bride was not of age and the priest
! refused to perform the ceremony. The
wedding arrangements are still in statu quo.
! 1t appears that Miss Lukus and Antno-
wicz procured a marriage license from JUS
/ tice Shoemaker on an affidavit that the
/ young woman attained her 22nd year this
month. Sockalosl1y and his wife were bit
/ terly opposed to the proposed marriage and
1 the former, upon hearing of the proceedings
before Justice Shoemaker, obtained a dupli'
cate of the affidavit and went to Rev. Len
arkawicz, the priest of the Polish Catholic
church. and from him procured copy of the
certificate showing that the young woman
was baptized in October, 1876, and
was not of age. Armed with both papers
Sockaloski hurried to the residence
of Rev. Abromaitis, the Lithuanian priest,
and got there just as the marriage ceremony
was about to start The church was filled
with friends of the contracting parties and
the interruption caused a sensation. Socka-
loslSy was accompanied by his lawyer and
protested against the marriage. Rev. AbrO
MATHS was as much surprised as anybody by
sudden turn Of affairs. He read the duplicat,
affidavit and certificate carefully and listened
to the statements of the lawyer, and then re
tired to the parsonage declaring that unde
the circumstances, he could not proceed will
the ceremony number of friends of tn,
contracting parties went to the parsonag,
and made urgent appeals to the priest to pro
ceed with the ceremony, but their actor
only added fuel to the already intensified
state of the step-fathers mind. Mean
while the bridegroom the intended grooms
man and Policeman Walaitis hurried tC
the Sockalosky domicle on West Goa
street and soon returned with a document in
the Lithuanian language purporting to be
the consent in writing of Mrs. SockaloskS
to the wedding and signed by her mark
Again Sockalosky and his lawyer protested
The former declared that his wife had beeI
imposed upon and that the writing was
fraud and a forgery. Rev. Abromaitis re
spected the protest and declined to perform
the ceremony and all parties left the par
sonage and mingled with the bride and thu
great crowd Of people who had heard Of tn,
affair and crowded into the church. Tht
next move in the matter is isanxiously awaited
by people who delight in sensations.