Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-12-23
A GOLDEN WEDDING.

day. The occasion was the hflletn an
niversary Of the marriage of this most
excellent old couple, and the fact that
it was purely family affair from start
TO finish does not detract in the least
from certain public Importance.
There were "no cards." and from
this scores of prominent people in the
surrounding country, Rock Hill, Ches-
ter and other places, who ought to
have been there, and who would have
gladly carried numerous golden trib-
utes, will understand why they were
not expected. In fact, the develop
ments of the occasion were complete
surprise to the happy old couple, who
knew practically nothing of the pro.
posed celebration until well up in the
morning of the day upon which it was
to be held. But gold there was. 1t
came in the form of liquid shower #
flial love, in which parental hear s
| were completely Immersed.
First came the wife and children Of
one son. 1t was nothing unusual, and
the dear old mother received them in
her usual matter of fact way, just as
she would have received any of her
children before they were married.
Then came daughter with her child
rem, and so on until all the families
had gathered at the house. Before
the gathering was completed, Of course,
Mr.. aud Mrs. Leslie began to fully
understand what was up, and about
the only evidence of their especial
interest manifested by either was the
exalted joy that seemed to be rehect' d
from their kindly faces throughout
the day. 1t was evident that they
realized how profoundly they were
honored but to attempt to describe
the sublime feelings which ruled them
would probably be close to sacrilege.
But the children did not come empty
handed. Each had prepared some
thing for the great dinner that had
been planned. This was in order that
the day might be one of real enjoyment
for "mother." Had she been called
upon to superintend these arrange
ments, the occasion would not have
been holiday. So the turkeys and
chickens, the cakes, the pies, the fruit,
the preserves, the jellies, and the doz-
ems of other things, that went to make
up the great feast, had all been pro-
vided at the surrounding homes of the
loving children.
1t is not necessary to describe the
dinner. Already enough has been
said to indicate its character, and
every reader who is familiar with the
efforts of the well-to-do country house
wife, can imagine the result when
half dozen of them operate together.
Some of the grand children had deco
rated the dining room with ivy leaves
in wreaths and borders and the dates
"1s49" and "1S99", the last under the
first, needed no explanation. Rev. c.
B. Belts invoked Divine blessings, and
Rev. Oliver Johnson sat with him at
the head of the table. Mr.. and Mrs.
Leslie sat on his right, and the child
rem and grandchildren occupied the
remainder of the seats. But there
was more than one table, because the
total number of people was in the
neighborhood of rs.
In brief, here is the family record:
D. T. Leslie and Miss Susan Jane
Wylie were married at the old Thomas
Wylis homestead, about mile from
the present Leslie homestead, on De-
cember 20, 1S49. Seven children were
born to them. One, Nixon Nathaniel,
died June "a, 1855. Another, Mary
Elizabeth, wife of Mr.. J. w. Belts,
died, May "a, 1897. The other five
are all living within radius of two
miles. They are:
w. S. Leslie, the oldest, married
Mrs. Margaret Jane Grier, of Steel
Creek, N. c. They have eight chill
dren, and have lost one by death.
Miss Martha Eliza Leslie married
Mr.. J. w. Simpson. They have six
children, and have lost one by death.
Mr.. D. P. Leslie married Miss Har-
riet Alternately. They have six chill
dren.
Miss Mary Elizabeth Leslie married
Mr.. J. w. Belts. Six children were
born to them. One, Miss Emma Jo'
sephine Belts, was married on Decem-
ber 21, 1889, to Samuel Walter Fergu-
son.
Miss Mary Josephine Leslie was
married to Mr.. N. B. Williams. They
have seven children.
Mr.. T. F. Leslie was married to