Digging Up Your Family

Wedding of Minnie Virginia Richards and James Paul Stalls, Sr

I honestly thought I had already transcribed this article describing (in great detail) the wedding of my great-grandparents Minnie Virginia Richards and James Paul Stalls, Sr. Apparently I had not, so here it is!

(I actually wish that a photo of the wedding party were included with the article.  If anyone is researching any members of the bridal party, and happens to have photos of a stranger’s wedding, please contact me!  PLEASE!)

Published in the Commercial Appeal, Tuesday July 28, 1914:

WEDDINGS

RICHARDS-STALLS

The McLemore Avenue Christian Church was the scene of a very pretty wedding last evening at 8:30 o’clock when Miss Minnie Virginia Richards became the bride of J. Paul Stalls, the Rev. Milo Atkinson officiating in the presence of a large gathering of friends and relatives.

For the occasion the church was prettily decorated with a profusion of plams (sic),ferns and garlands of southern smilax, caught with graceful bows of pink tulle. Electric lights shone through the ferns and palms and lighted tapers glowed through the white shades of the candelabra.

A beautiful programme of wedding music was rendered by Enoch Walton, who presided at the organ, assisted by Mrs. C. W. Parke, soprano, and Mrs. S. H. Lambert, violinist. The Bridal Chorus from “Lohengrin” was used as the processional, with Mendelssohn’s wedding march as the recessional, and during the ceremony Mr. Walton softly played “To a Wild Rose.

The specially selected programme included the following numbers:

Organ-Pilgrim’s Chorus from “Tannhauser”………………..Wagner

Voice-“The Rosary”………………………………………………………..Nevin

Organ-Andante in G………………………………………………………Batiste

Voice-“All For You”………………………………………...….…D’Hardelot

Organ-“Evensong”………...…………………………………………….Batiste

Voice-“Because”…….…………………………………………..…D’Hardelot

Organ-“Spring Song”……………………………………….….Mendelssohn

Violin-“Evening Star”………………………………………..……..…Wagner

Organ-Humoresque……………………………………………..….……Dvorak

Voice-“O, Promise Me”…………………………………………….De Koven

Organ-(a) Bridal Chorus from “Lohengrin”……………….…Wagner

          (b) “To a Wild Rose”…………………………………..MacDowell

Voice-“At Dawning”

Organ-(a) Wedding March…………………………………..Mendelssohn

          (b) March from “Tannhauser”……………………………Wagner

The bride, who was given in marriage by her father, Jerome Richards, was gowned in a robe of white duchess satin with draperies of Chantilly lace, with she wore a filmy veil of tulle, falling from a Juliet cap and caught with orange blossoms. She carried a shower bouquet of Bride roses and valley lilies and wore as her only ornament a diamond and pearl pendant: the gift of the groom.

Miss Zella Smith of Meridian, Miss., acted as maid of honor, gowned in pink crepe de chine with a draped cape and carrying a French basket filled with Bride roses.

Misses Annie Sites, Katherine Lawless and Dorothy and Laura Richards served as bridesmaids, gowned in pink crepe de chine and lace and carrying French baskets filled with pink Killarney roses.

Little Misses Alice Rogers and Ruth Frances Parke acted as flower girls, wearing dainty frocks of lace over pink satin and carrying small baskets filled with pink rose petals, while Master Clifton Drane Bondurant served as ringbearer, wearing an Oliver Twist suit of white and pink and carrying the ring in the heart of a lily.

The groom was attended by W. Franklin Robinson as best man, Robert Love and Clarence Banning as groomsmen and Earle F. French and Lin Sheffer as ushers.

Following the ceremony an informal reception for the immediate relatives and members of the bridal party was held at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Richards, on Lucy Avenue, where the decorations were of pink and white, carried out in garden flowers, ferns, and palms.

A cordial welcome was extended to the guests by Mr. and Mrs. Richards, the latter gowned in black crepe de chine and lace, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Curtius, the latter gowned in hand-embroidered voile.

Many handsome presents attested the popularity of the young couple, who left last evening for New Orleans, en route to New York and points along the Great Lakes. For traveling the bride was gowned in a tailored suit of blue serge, with a hat of white straw.

After the middle of September Mr. and Mrs. Stalls will be at home to their friends with the parents of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. Richards, on Lucy Avenue.

Finally A Photograph Of Annie Bondurant!

After hoping and hoping and hoping, I am thrilled to say that today my mom and I got to see a picture of Mary J “Annie” Bondurant, my second great-grandmother, for the first time.  A distant cousin, Joanne Stephens, through marriage (through the Curtius family, Annie’s second husband’s family) found a photo and emailed it to my mother.

 

Written on the back is:

left to right-

Frank, Myself, Minnie

Mrs Richards Minnie’s Mother

lady who was a visitor from

Brownsville Tenn,

My dear son Paul.

front-

Baby Paul, 6 years old.

Household

Kitten

Made June 3rd 1923-

For Nellie & Joe, Ed. as Nellie knows these people-

So the people in the photo are:

Frank Curtius-Annie’s second husband

Mary J “Annie” Bondurant-my 2nd great-grandmother

Minnie Virginia Richards-my great-grandmother and Annie’s daughter-in-law

Minnie DeMumbrie-my 2nd great-grandmother and Minnie Virginia Richards’ mother

I’m not sure who the woman from Brownsville, Tennessee is, but she is a relative of some sort, I’m sure

James Paul Stalls, Sr-my great-grandfather, Annie’s son and Minnie Virginia Richards’ husband (first husband)

James Paul Stalls, Jr-my Granddaddy, Annie’s grandson, J. Paul and Minnie Virginia’s son, my mom’s daddy!

Solving One Mystery Can Lead To Another

The question kept coming up of why wasn’t my granddaddy, James Paul Stalls Jr (1917-1987) on the 1920 census with his parents. I just couldn’t understand where he could have been, since he would have been about 3 years old (depending on what month the census was enumerated). The Census record I found that his parents were on was done on January 17, 1920 in Memphis, Tennessee. You can plainly see that his parents are living with the Richards family (James Paul Stalls Jr’s mother’s family). Listed are Jerome Richards (Minnie’s father), Minnie Richards (Minnie’s mother), Paul Stalls (granddaddy’s father), Minnie Stalls (granddaddy’s mother), Bluford Richards (granddaddy’s uncle), Willie Richards (Bluford’s wife) and Nannie Taylor (the servant/nanny).

The possibilities of why he wasn’t living with them were A) perhaps that’s when he had scarlet fever and maybe he was in the hospital-but you would assume they would still have listed him as living in the household with the family, or B) maybe he was living with his grandparents, James Paul Stalls Sr’s family. So I looked them up.

Lo and behold, there he is. But wait! His parents are there, too! Listed (and misspelled) are Frank Curtius and Mary Curtius (JPS Sr’s step-father and mother). Mary’s mother is also there, Francis Bondurant. What’s this? The STALLS family is listed as Curtis’? Crazy! But there they are! Paul Curtis, Mamie Curtis and Paul Curtis Jr. That’s not right, is it? Nope. As you can see, Curtius is misspelled. As is Bondurant. Minnie’s name is written as Mamie. And Paul Sr, Minnie and Paul Jr should all be Stalls. I’m not even going to get into the age differences (only two of the ages listed are correct).

So the Curtius census was enumerated on January 3-4, 1920, also in Memphis, Tennessee.

The questions this raises are: was the Stalls family actually living with the Curtius family and moved within the 14 days between enumerations to the Richards household? Was granddaddy living with them after the move or was he in the hospital (we need to find out when he had scarlet fever)?

This isn’t the first time that someone is listed on more than one census record for the same year. Another example (which this may or may not be the same person, but the names and ages are the same):

My mom noticed on the House of Proctor website that someone had cited the 1870 Nashville, Tennessee census, enumerated July 15, 1870, as listing Amanda Summers. She is 18 years old and is a boarder in the Wyatt household.

In the 1870 Stewart County, Tennessee census, enumerated August 22, 1870, Amanda is living with her parents, Pink and Emily, her siblings, Greenberry and Clementine, and two boys that may or may not be her siblings, Anderson and Rufus (in another post I mentioned that they were not on the 1860 census, even though they would have been 5 and 3 in that year). On this census Amanda is 18 years old, but it isn't actually listed how she is related to the Summers family (but we know she is the daughter, according to other census records).

So, the questions raised by these census records: if the Nashville, Tennessee census is our Amanda, is it possible that she went to Nashville to give birth to Lizzie? If so, where is Lizzie (that question is going to haunt me until I find the answer!)? Either way, Lizzie isn’t listed as living with her on either census. It’s just so strange.