Evening star., 1923-02-11
% have been married in the
White House in President Lin
coins administration; to have

I COINS administration; to have
! been given away as a bride by
the President himself; to have eaten
the wedding supper at the great
| statesmans table, and to have spent
the first night of married life in the
| executive mansion-all this is a dis
! tinetion. The unique experience is
| one that is vividly remembered by
Mrs. Elizabeth Chandler, a bride of
\ 1852. who now lives at 28I9 East Lynn
| street, Anderson, Ind
| Mrs. Chandler, who is eighty years
| OF age. is believed to be the only liv-
ing woman who was married in the
White House in Mr.. Lincoln's time
| and the only woman not of a Presi-
dents family ever to be married in
the Presidents residence
However. she sees nothing unusual
about II all, but recalls the time
| when she and her youthful suitor
James Henry Chandler, after several
months OF secret courtship, eloped
from their homes near Mount Sidney,
Va. and went to Harpers Ferry to
be married.
Upon learning that. on account of
local conditions, they could not be
| married at that place, they took the
next stage to Washington. Making
! their way to the White House. they
| finally gained admission, told Presi-
dent Lincoln OF their disappointment
at Harpers Ferry. and were married
! by a Baptist minister. to whom Mr..
| Lincoln sent gently peremptory
S. o. S.
| X *
H(NOURTIN' in the open wasn't al
~ lowed very often in Virginia
those days. Henry and | had to do
our courtin' on the sly" said Mrs.
Chandler. as she began to tell Ihe
story. "On church nights / would say
that | was going with my Uncle Joe,
and Aunt Kit. and Henry would al
ways meet me at the barn gate. He
would walk with me until we came
near the lights OF the church. then
would wait at the door and go in
with Uncle Joe and Aunt Kit, and
after a while Henry would come in
| by himself. Then. besides these meet
ings. We wrote lots OF letters
Did you mail your letters at the
Office" Mrs. Chandler was asked.
Land sakes alive! No." she quickly
replied That wouldn't have done at
! all. old Black Bill he carried our
letters to us for a long time. but one
| day he came TO me and said: Miss
| Lizzie. you all know il Marse John
ever catched me fetching these here
letters to you, he would break my
! back After that ! would never let
! Black Bill bring the letters to me.
but he would hide them under rock
near the spring and I would get them
| there
] Quite an interesting courtship,"
| said the interviewer.
| Yes, but Henry and l soon got tired
l Of being so secret about everything,
so we decided to run away and get
married" she replied
| You didn't get much OF chance to
get many of your wedding clothes
,, made. did you?" the elderly lady was
asked
Yes. Aunt Kit helped us a lot. She
and Uncle Joe would never tell the
folks that Henry walked to and from
church with me. She was making
1 the clothes for her daughter to be
| married in. so she made mine at the
same time. We girls were about the
4
made the clothes just alike.
| Mrs. Chandler told with a hearty
chuckIe about her mother helping to
make the wedding dress that was
worn to the White House. the mother
thinking all the time she was making
the dress for her niece, who was to
! be married.
| Mother didn't know that she was
! 20,
now did you get away" was the
next question.
| "Wer, one day one of Henry's
ineighbors came over and dropped IN
to see the folks awhile. He said to
me, How long since you have neen
! over TO visit your Aunt Minnie? AS
| soon as he said this L knew tnat
Henry had sent him after me.
asked him IL his horse carried douole.
and after he told me that 1T did, l
told the folks that was going to ride
with him over to my aunts ana stay
the rest of the week. We went direct
to Mount Sidney. where Henry was
waiting for me-.
! "weu. what did you do about the we'd
ding clothes?" I interrupted.
[ ooh. Aunt Kit had already sent the
clothes over there. and / was ready to
% uhen the stage left. We never let
any one see us together at Mount SID
new. In fact, I did not see Henry until
| be met the stage at the edge OF the town.
A voune doctor who also wanted to
marry me saw me when 1 got on the
stage but I told him that I was just
going out in the country for few days.
4 ~ X II
| .vYYHEN we got to Harpers Ferry
| w they told US that we could not
| rat mArried there. Things were in bad
shape at that time. We had gone that
far and thought we might as well go
ahead. so we took the next stage to
Washington"
"How did you happen to go to the
| White House:" Mrs. Chandler was
asked.
1--WE were just couple Of green Vir-
rinians from down In the hills, and
didn't know any better than to 90 to
the White House to get married."
laughed the old lady. 1--WE asked q man
who was coming out Of the White
| House II we could get married there.
He said that he didn't know, but he
took us to the door where the colored
man was standing, and this porter or
butler or whatever you call 'em took
us to the President.
"'welI. what do you children want?
! the President asked US. Henry told
him of our disappointment at Harper's
| Ferry and that we had come there to
get married. Mr.. Lincoln turned to me
| and said, II help you to be married,
| will you be willing to give your hus-