Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-12-03
RICHARD CROKER
WEEDS PRINCESS
OF INDIAN TRIBE
Ceremony Performed by Mgr
Brann at Home of Nathan
Straus-GrOOm so Years
Older Than Bride.

New York, Nov. 26.-Richard w.
Croker former leader of Tammany
Hall, was married to-day to Miss Bula
Benton Edmondson, n member of the
Cherokee Indian tribe, who Is fifty
years his junior. He is 70 years old
and she is 23. Tonight the bride and
groom are on their way to the Croker
estate near Palm Beach, Fla, to spend
their honeymoon.
The wedding took place at the home
of Nathan Straus, an old friend Of
Cookers Many people whom Croker
had not taken into his confidence as
to just where the ceremony would be
performed. went to st. Agnes Church
under the impression they would be
witnesses of the nuptals, only to be
disappointed. However, Croker did not
evade all the unlimited guests, as
seemed his purpose, for the street in
front of the Straus home was crowd =
ed with men and women. Only about
rs guests were invited to the wedding.
The bride was given away by her
uncle W. W. Hastings. who for fifteen
years has been attorney for the Chero-
KEGS and who recently was elected to
Congress from Oklahoma. The brides
maids We're Miss Frances Fite, a senior
at Nassar, who comes from Muskogee,
Okla, Miss Ethel Brown of Dayton,
Ohio and Miss Villa Townsend of
Memphis Tenn. Monsignor Henry A
Brann, rector Of st. Agnes Church,
performed the ceremony. The groom s
gift to the bride was a pearl dog collar
Croker was attended by Thomas F.
Smith, who has been secretary Of Tam
many Hall ever so long.
is PRINCESS SEQUOYAH
/ A typewriter statement given out by
the bride after the ceremony made clear
a good deal of her life history. which
has been reported in many different
ways since knowledge of the engagement,
| became known Her statement says she
is known as Princess Sequoyah. OF
Ketaw Kaluntuchy, among her tribe
Her father, the statement continued
was Michael Smith Edmondson, a
descendant of Roger De Montgomery
who commanded the van of the Norman
army at the battle of Hastings, and hei
mother was Galela WEIGH, who descend
ed from the famous Chief Sequoyah in
ventor OF the Cherokee alphabet
"She Is proud Of her Indian ancestr,
and the Cherokees are proud Of her as a
college girl. lecturer. ranch owner and
business woman" the statement said
The ranch It was further set forth
consists of 64o0 acres. has 1000 apple trees
and Yields $4,000 year.
Croker first saw the girl who to-day
became his bride In Kansas city when
she was nine years old, according to the
statement. and he later became interest
ed in her zeal TO make her people better
understood Miss Edmondson got inspira-
ton for her work from Pocahontas and
other Indian girls, she said. She told II
thus:
INSPIRED BY POCAHONTAS.
Il have been inspired by the exampl,
of Pocahontas, who did so much to make
the English people understand our race
Then there was Saccawagca, the bir(
woman who piloted the Lewis and CLARK
expedition 5000 miles and made It sue
cess On the way back in crossing th'
Missouri, her husband, renegade
Frenchman. upset the canoe, carrying th'
records Of the expedition. She dived agair
and again until she saved all the valuable
papers and trophies. I also find inspira
ton in Talahina, the Cherokee maiden
who helped Sam Houston to freeTexas.'
And then she turned to Croker, who Ions
was known as the chief" of Tammanl
Hall. and remarked:
But It Is the dearest ambition of every
Indian girl to win chief and have wor
the chief of men"
In April the couple will go to thu
groom's home in Ireland, where he ha
resided for many years since retiring from
political life in New York.