Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-03-03
Atlanta Attorney Wins Beau
tifuI North Carolina Girl as
Bride After Waiting Three
Years 4

After being halted on the very
threshold of their honeymoon by
parental objections and legal com
plications, and after waiting almost
three wears for parental objections
to fade away and for legal compli'
cations to be removed by the passage
of time, Robert f. Church, we'll
known Atlanta lawyer, and his beau
tiful sweetheart, who was Miss
Norma Cowan, of Hamlet, N. c., at
last have come into their own.
They met in the summer of 1918,
and liked each other right from the
start, and within a few months Mr..
Church succeeded in persuading the
lovely girl to become his bride. How
young she was he did not realize. He
did not make a point of asking her,
of course, and she did not make a
point of telling him. She was young
enough, so why should he worry
concerning the small matter of her
age?
In August, 1920 Miss COwan went
to Monroe, NC, about sixty miles
from her home city of Hamlet, to
visit her grandparents. She wrote
Mr.. Church that she would marry
him if he would come to Monroe. He
went on the next train. She had
made no preparations for a honey
moon, but while he mapped out a
honeymoon to New York and bought
the railroad tickets, and arranged
the Pullman reservations, and wired
for hotel reservations, etc, she flew
to the stores and bought trOusseau,
and he likewise took a satOrial flyer
on his own account, so that all was
in readiness an hour before the fast
train for New York was scheduled
to come rolling into Monroe.
Then Mr.. Church went to the
| court house to get the marriage
! license-and right there he struck
a snag. 1t seemed that the officiaE
who issued marriage licenses was a
! friend of Miss Cowan's grandfather,
and that Miss Cowan's grandfather
| was a county Official and that the
! gentleman who issued licenses was
aware of her age.
i "Mr. Church." said he, 'I cannot
issue you this license. The North
Carolina law does not allow a girl tC
marry under eighteen years of age
without the consent of her parents
| Being a lawyer with full respect
! for the ethics OF his profession, and
being a truthful man, Mr.. Church
could not do anything but acllnOwl
edge that ne was unaware Of the
| North Carolina law and likewise un
aware of the extreme youth Of his
sweetheart.
Then and there he abandoned his
| honeymoon and gave up the girl who
was about to become his bride. He
| informed her parents that he would
wait until she reached the age Of
eighteen, and then if she would
marry him he would renew his
suit
And she returned home, and II
September went back to school
and this coming June she would have
finished school, but in the mean
while the passage Of time took hel
over the line, and she could marry
without the consent of her parents
Having waited almost three years
| Mr.. Church was naturally getting
restless. Miss Cowan was willing
to go ahead now and not wait FOL
her diploma. Her parents reluct
Iantly gave their consent. They were
quite willing to for her to be mar
ried, but preferred that she finish
school. Yet they let the sweet
hearts have their way, as parent
often do.
So the marriage was solemnlzeC
at her home and the father ant
mother bestowed THAR blessings, ant
all of the boys and girls of Hamle
gathered to make a happy celebra
ton, and the honeymoon deSSrre'
so long was launched at last unde
the gayest auspices. And Mr.. AM
Mrs. Church are now in Atlanta.
The brides parents are Mr. AM
Mrs. A. S. Cowan, and she was on
of the most nnnnlar girls in Hamlet