Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1909-10-07
Golden Wedding Celebration.

same time impressive weddings that
the county has ever witnessed was
celebrated by Peter F. and Marcelia
Hope at their home in Stowell, Wyom-
ing county, Pa, on Thursday, Sept. 8,
1909.
What makes the wedding remark
able is the fact that an unusually large
family of fourteen children, being
equally divided, seven boys and seven
girls, all living and we'll, were on hand
to help them celebrate.
The little Catholic church at Stowell.
beautifully decorated was filled with
friends and relatives to witness the
ceremonies. Rev. ]. ]. O'Donald, with
specially engaged choir from Pitts
ton, sang high mass, during the cele.
bration, of which the contracting
parties went through with being re-
married as it were) the beautiful cere
mony connected with marriage in
the Catholic church.
One of the most remarkable things
in connection with this wedding is the
fact that all of the fourteen children,
although scattered far and wide, have
retained the faith of their parents and
assembled with them aronnd the little
altar to give thanks to God and to re-
ceive with them the sacrament of the
church in the form of holy communion.
After the church ceremony the
friends of the parties assembled at the
home Of the parties where the real
festivities of the occasion began. All
day long congratulations were receiv-
ed mail, telephone by and telegraph and
from people who drove for miles. The
immediate family consists of fourteen
children and forty-five grandchildren
and not only filed the house but most
of the surrounding yard. After the
wedding dinner the picnic grounds be-
longing to the congregation of st.
Anthony's Catholic church were en-
gagged and thrown open with an in.
vitation to the public in general.
Hundreds enjoyed this part of the pro.
gram, dancing to the music of Fralev's
orchestra, and eating and drinking un-
til the small hours of the morning.
Special mention should be made of
the fact that to the Rev. J. J. O'Don-
aid is due great deal of credit for the
success of the affair. He not only
preached and appropriate sermon
after the mass, but he partook of the
dinner, after which he delivered neat
little speech calling the attention of
the friends and the whole world in gen.
erai to the fact that large family is no
burden, financially, PHYSICALLY or moral
when received in a proper spirit and
sanctioned by the grace of God.
Most OF this numerous family live in
the near neighborhood of their par
ents: The girls are Lizzie Corcorar1, of
Stowell; Anna Schultz, of WilkesBarre:
Mary Malloy, of Stowell; Susan
Murray, of New York; Catherine Bag
gott and Margarite Brown, of Sugar
Run, and Madge Hope at home. The
sons are Christopher, of Mildred; Ber-
nard of New York; Edward and Fran
els, Of Wilkes Barre; Bart, of Lovelton;
Charles and George at home.
AS the celebrants are very we'll off so
far as the worlds goods are concerned,
they made special request that no
presents should be sent; so if they re-
ceived any they hid them away as
none were visible to the writer.
Peter f. Hope, one of the subjects of
TINS sketch, was born in the village of
Lon gwood, County of Meath, Ireland,
on April 3Oth, 1880, thus making him
~ years of age. Landing in New York
In 1853 he went directly to the place
where he now resides and with the ex-
ception of a few years spent in Cali
fornia has lived there ever since. He
Tells me that he has chopped from the
primitive forest and cleared up at least
20 acres ofland for each and every child
he has raised, making a total of 2sO
acres or greater part of the beautiful
ana spacious farm where he now re-
sides.
Peter F. is the name familiarly ap.
piled to this man of the numerous
family and by the name he has been
we'll and fovorably known, from one
end of the county to the other. Not
being inclined for politics, he has re-
fused the nomination for every office
within the gift of his party.
Mrs. Hope was born, raised and mar
ried in North Branch township where
she has spent her whole life with only
the cares and worries attending the
birth and raising of such a large
family. She was married in the little
log cabin of her parents by the Rev.
Father Anthony Felix, an Italian
priest, who journeyed from Wilkes
Barre on horse back to perform this
marriage, and to attend to the spirit
ual welfare of the handful of Catholic
people who were the pioneers in a vast
wilderness of what is now one of the
most beautiful farming localities in the
county.-Tunkhannock, Pa, Demo
crat.
Mrs. DC. Hayes, nee Elizabeth Riley
one of Emporium's highly respected
ladies, attended the golden wedding,
being sister of the "bride.n