The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-27
CROKER
 WEDS INDIAN GIRL I Have Won the Chief" of Men, Says Girl Who Is
 Proud of Her Race

New York. November 2s-Richard ". Croker. the former Tammany leader. was married today to Miss Bula Benton Ed- mondson a member of the Cherokee In- dian tribe. who is 50 years his junior. He is 73 years old and she is 2s Tonight the bride and groom are on their way to the Crolser estate near Palm Beach. Fla, for their honeymoon.
 The wedding took place at the home of Nathan Straus. Many persons whom croker had not taken Into his confidence
 as to just where the ceremony would be performed went to St. Agnes church un- der the impression they would witness the
 nuptials. only to be disappointed. How
 ever. Croker did not evade all the un-
 invited guests, as seemed to be his pur-
 pose, for the street In front of the Straus
 home was crowded with men and women.
 Only about % were invited to the wedding.
 Given Away By Uncle The bride was given away by her uncle. W. W. Hastings, who for 15 years has been attorney for the Cherokees and who recently was elected to Congress from Oklahoma. The bridesmaids were Miss Francis F1te. senior at yassar. who
 comes form Muskogee, Okla. Miss Ethel Brown of Dayton. O.. and Miss Villa Townsend of Memphis. Mons Henry Brann, rector of St. Agnes church, per formed the ceremony The bridegroom gift tc the bride was pearl collar CrolSer was attended by Thomas r. Smith. who
 has been secretary of Tammany Hall for years.
 A typewritten statement given out by ! the bride after the ceremony made clear Q good deal of her life history, which had been reported in many different ways since knowledge of her engagement be- came known. The statement said she was
 an Indian princess known as Princess Se-
 quoyah or ketaw Kaluntuchy among her
 tribe Her father, the statement con tinued, was Michael Smith Edmondson, q descendenat of Roger de Montgomery w--o commanded the van of the Norman army
 at the battle of Hastings, and her mother
 was Galea Welch, who descended from the famous Chief Sequoyah, inventor Of
 the Cherokee alphabet.
 she is proud of her Indian ancestry and the Cherolkees are proud of her as a college girl, lecturer. ranch owner and business woman" said the statement. Met In Kansas City Croker first saw the girl in Kansas City when she was years old, according to the statement, and he later became inter- ested in her zeal to make her people bet l ter unueTbtOOu. hlhS E10ubHuSou Bol I- spiration for her work from Pocahontas and other Indian girls. she said. She told l 1t thus:
 .I have been inspired by the example of | Pocahontas, who did much to make | the English people understand our race. Then there was Saccawagea. the Bird | Woman who ploted the Lewis and Clark | expedition 5000 miles and made 1t a sue | cess. On the way back in crossing the | Missouri her husband. a renegade French i, man, upset the canoe carrying the rec oIds of the expedition. She dlved again | and again until she saved all the valuable papers and trophies. l also find inspira- l ton in Talabina the Cherokee maiden who l helped Sam Houston to free Texas" l And then she turned to Croker, who l long was known as the "chief' of Tam | But 1t Is the dearest ambition of every
 Indian girl to win chief. and l have 1 won the chief of men"
 1 In April the couple will go toSthe groom's | home In Ireland, where croker has resd- ed for many years since his retirement
 from politics.