The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-19
Ohio's Gfefna
Green |.

uon WHICH involves the interest of tens
OF thousands Of families all over the
United States The situation is a pecu-
liar one and is the result Of the ex-
traord1nary laxity with which the mar
riage laws have been observed In the
little town of Aberdeen, which lies on
the Ohio river opposite Maysville. KY.
The Ohio law provides:
PREVIOUS to persons being joined In
marriage notice thereof shall be pub
hshed In the presence Of the congrega-
tlon on TWO different days of public
worship, the first publication to be at
least ten days previous to such mar
rage, within the county where the
female resides, or a license shall he
obtained for that purpose from the
PROBATE judge in the county where
such female may reside
The meaning of the above provision
seems obvious enough, says the Louis
vile Courier-Journal But probate
Judges throughout that state have seen
Mt to construe it very literally, hold
Ing THAT they could issue license to peo-
pie coming from out of the state, which
seems in direct contradiction of the
law. The majority Of the thousands of
! victims of the Aberdeen marriages have
not even the shallow pretext of a cues
uonable license. however, on which to
Dase their claims to holy WedIock All
they nave or ever did have is a docu-
ment purporting to be marriage GER
tlncate and bearing the signature Of a
man VINO, In the eyes of the law had
no r1ght Whatever to perform such cere-
mony without lawfully issued license.
Inc history of Aberdeen as a matri-
monlal center and the Mecca of haraSS-
ed lovers is unique and interesting. 1t
mas been called the "Gretna Green of
the Ohio Valley the "Gretna Green
OF America" etc, but the term "Gretna
Green is pitifully inadequate when APP
plled to place whose Importance far
exceeds that of the little Scotch border
town where certain braWny
blacksmith tied e the hymeneal
knot. Episodes 1transpiring in the
latter place which were wont
to be sung by Scottish bards have been
OF everyday occurrence in Aberdeen for
a period Of more than rs years.
The popularity of Aberdeen as an
elopement rendezvous dates back to
the days Of one Thomas Shelton, or
the old squire, as he is spoken of by
the people of Aberdeen in order to dis
tinguish him from his successor, Squire
known and spoken of as 1.-The Squire of
Aberdeen"
1t was in 1922 that Thomas Shelton
was elevated to the office of justice of
the peace, then as now an important
position in the social and political life
of Aberdeen. Immediately upon his
| accession he began to set the marriage
laws of the state at defiance. During
the course of his regime, which endur-
ed continuously until his death in 1870,
he married many thousands of clipping
couples, not one of whom had a license
But it remained for his successor,
Massie Beasley, to give to Aberdeen
the reputation 1t deserves of being the
greatest Gretna Green the world has
ever seen. The good people of the viii
lage paraphrase the Biblical passage
apropos the prowess of Saul and David
by saying that Squire Shelton married
his thousands and Squire Beasley his
tens of thousands
The matrimonial traffic as carried on
by Squire Beasley lis something un-
precedented. He construed the mar
riage laws even more literally than
his predecessor, and during his term of
office, which extended over a period Of
twenty-five years. and which, like that
of Squire Shelton, endured continuously
until his death, he married more than
10000 couples. majority Of these
without license. At Squire Beasley's
death in 1892 a stop was put upon the
nonlicenSe marriages at Aberdeen by
the states filming a number of laymen
who took it upon themselves to follow
the lucrative practice built up by the
dead magistrate.
Elopements have always been the
life of the town, and there is not a
man, woman or child therein who is
not proud of Aberdeen's unparalleled
/ record. The little country paper pub
| lished in the village is called the Gretna
Green, and the ferryboat which piled
between there and Maysville for sew
enteen years was named the Gretna
Green. 1t was on board this boat thar
many hundreds of clipping couples were
married. This was a matter of ac-
cident as often as of choice. for the
reason that when. the squire was not
to be found in his office or at the tav-
ern he was strolling about the ferry
landing or on board the boat itself
Squire BeaSley eWaS in the business
| for all there was in 1t. He began opera
tons by asking the would-be Benedict
! If he realized the great risk he was
! imposing upon magistrate of the law
should that official grant his request.
| and if he was aware Of the fact that
heavy fine and long term of impris,
onment awaited the-perpetrator of such
swain with the gravity of the situa-
/ ton and with much heming and haw-
! ing, the squire would finally agree to
| sacrifice his scruples provided he were
| paid sum large enough to Justify his
running the risk incurred. The price
| stipulated was always big figure
| Squire BeaSley was shrewd observer
and the amount fixed by him usually
corresponded pretty accurately with
| the wallet Of the bridegroom.
| Squire Beasley would accept nothing
but cash as a marriage fee, his bust
ness motto being, mo money, no mar
| ry." In this respect he differed mate
| rally from his predecessor SQUIRE
| Shelton would accept a pocketknife in
| fee for such service rather than miss
a job.
Many Of the clippers came by car
/ riage, on horseback or on foot but
| the majority of the runaway mar
/ riages took place on board the Gretna
| Green, or on the ferry landing itself
| Scarcely day passed without some
such incident. The squire's son Thomas
| was pilot of the Gretna Green, and as
| he is said to have received a commits
| sion on every bridal couple whom he
| landed on the Ohio shore, it goes with
| out saying that he was not idle during
| all these years. When an agitated
and breathless couple came hurTyine
down to the ferryboat, with an inru-
| rated father or guardian following
close at their heels, 1t was Thomas
Reasley who Gained their fears by the
| assurance that he would see them
safely over and thatnhe would not give
their followers e an opportunity of
boarding the boat S And he was al
ways true to his promise. AS soon as
| the clippers had crossed the gangplanR