Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-08-25
WERE COMMON CENTURY AGO
Brides Appeared in Scant Attire to
Protect Husband From Liability for
Her Debts--Varlous Expedients
to Preserve Modesty,
to Preserve Modesty.


got considerable light upon n strange
custom prevalent In England cen
fury or more ago and also To some ex
tent In the American colonies
SmOCk marriages were wedding,
where the bride appeared dressed in !
white sheet or chemiSe. The reason
for such Il garb MAS the belief that L
man married A woman VINO wrS II
debt he could be held liable for bel
Indebtedness n he received with hel
any OF her property: and also, that II
woman married man who was ir
debt. his creditors could not take her
property IN satisfy their claims II he
nat received nothing from her a,
marriage
In England saws an antiquarian
there WAS Mt least one case where a
bride WINS clothed I'm puris naturalihus
while the ceremony was being per
formed In the great church At R'rming.
ham. The minister at first refused
TO perform the ceremony. but, finding
nothing In the ruhric that would ex-
ruse him he finally married the pair.
To carry ont the law fully as the
people understood It. the ceremony
should always have been performed as
II was in the church at birmingham
In the case noted. fs1t. modeSty for
bidding various expedients were used
TO accomplish the desired end without
the unplea>ant features.
Sometimes the bride stood IN a
closet md put her hand through hole
IN the door: sometimes she stood be-
hind cloth screen and nut her hand
out at one side; again, she wound
nhout her white sheet furnished by
the bridegroom. and sometimes she
stood In her chemisr or Smock Event.
uallv. in Essex county at least all i'm
modeSty was avoided by the groom
furnishing all the clothes worn by the
bride. retaining title to the same In
himself This he did in the presence OF
witnesses that he might he able 70
prove the fact In case he was sued
for any debts she might have CON
tracted
A marriage Of this kind occurred at
Bradford in l773, and the following IL
true copy of the record Of the same:
Bradford. Dee. ye "A 1773.
This may certitie whomSoever It may
concerne that James Bailey of Brad.
ford who was married to the widow
Mary Bacon Nov, 90 last past by me
We subscriber then declared that he
took said person without anything Of
estate and that Lydia the wife Of
Elia2er Burbank 4 Mary the wife OF
Thomas Sticknev and Margaret the
wife Of Caleb Burbank all of Bradford
We're witnesses that the clothes she
then had on We're OF his providing and
bestowed upon her.
WILLIAM BAICH.
Minister of We Gospel
1t Is noted by the same writer that
in all cases Of smock marriages that
have come to his notice the brides
have been widows
1t is thought that during the reign
of George III there were many smock
In Maine, then part Of the
province of Massachusetts Bay, chief
~ in the counties of Lincoln and York
or In the territory which Is now so
known.
Practice Died Before Revolution.
There is nothing to show that the
practice ontlived the revolution. In
Maine, up to 1852, n husband was liza
bile for debts of his wife contracted
before marriage and no such subter-
fuge as the smock marriage could re-
lieve him.
Smock marriages were frequently
performed in Vermont about century
ago. They We're entirely honorable to
both the participants, for they put
wholly aside all considerations Of
financial and selfish interest. Accord
ing to tradition they all turned out
happily, and well they might. The
principle involved in them may be said
to have triumphed In our social life
the great majority Of marriages being
now smock marriages In the sense that
the parties are financially Independent
OF each other
Fly the way. one of the earliest and
strongest arguments for woman Suf-
frage was the necessity OF relieving
women from the financial bondage that
they We're under to their husbands 80
years ago. All that woman had then
belonged to her husband
Wendell Phillips, in his address at the
first national woman suffrage conven.
ton. held at Worcester In October,
1851, called attention to 4 curious case
that had lately occurred in this state.
A man married woman who had
$4,000 of her own, inherited from her
father. Dying about year after his
this man left remarkably
generous and manly will-he left these
S5O,Wn to his wife. SO long as she
should remain wldowi