Wedding Wednesday - Bowman & Rankin

Circular

Tuesday, Sept 6 1904 [written in at top of article].

A PRETTY HOME WEDDING.

One of the prettiest and most charming home weddings ever solemnized in this city was the one which occurred yesterday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bowman, when their daughter, Miss Bessie, was united in marriage to Mr. James A. Rankin, son of Captain and Mrs. W. D. Rankin, in the presence of relatives and about twenty-five or thirty friends of the contracting parties. The ceremony, which was performed by Rev. J. W. Howell, was beautiful and impressive, the ring ceremony being used.

It is no extravagance of speech in this instance to state that the bride, who is conceded to be one of Lexington's prettiest and most charming young ladies, never looked more beautiful and attractive than on this the most eventful period in her young life. She was handsomely, but becomingly, attired and presented a charming picture of young womanhood as she joined hands with the husband of her choice.

The groom bore himself most gallantly, as became one who was the proud winner of such a noble young woman for his bride.

The bride and groom are numbered among Lexington's most popular young people, each having hosts of warm and admiring friends.

After receiving the heartiest congratulations of all present, the bride and groom left on the 5:25 train for St. Louis, where they will spend about ten days visiting the exposition, after which they will make an extended tour of the east. They will return in about three weeks and make their home in Lexington until the completion of the handsome new residence which the groom is having built in Ray county.

The Daily Advertiser extends to the young couple its heartiest congratulations wishing for them a long life as clear of clouds as the bright, beautiful September afternoon on which they plighted their troth.

The attempt of the bride and groom to elude some of their friends who had planned to bombard them with rice and old shoes was cleverly frustrated and they were given a strenuous time of it, the merry-makers accompanying them all the way to Myrick, heralding the glad tidings to the public by means of a megaphone and printed circulars, all of which was greatly enjoyed by the bride and groom of course.

I have never seen anything like the circular that was passed out. It is the image above right. Click on it to see a bigger image. The transcription is as below.

The circular:

WAS SHE TO BLAME?

Can you look upon the handsome face of the groom and ask that question?

Mr. James Alexander Rankin, a Ray County farmer, and Miss Bessie Bowman, were married Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Lexington, Mo.

They are an affection couple but shy - Oh so very shy! If you stare at them they will be embarrassed but

STARE A LITTLE?


Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes

Taking a Sneak Peak - More Family Letters

One of my Percival cousins in Holland (Michigan) was kind enough to send me home with a couple of bundles of letters written to her dad, my uncle, during World War II. Among the writers are Helen Maitland Percival and Elizabeth Webb Bowman "Maw Maw", my great grandmothers, my dad's cousin James Rankin, Jr, Mary Percival French, my grandfather Percival's sister, Bess Bowman Rankin, my grandmother Percival's sister and a couple people I don't know. Finally, some other family members are mentioned, and so far I know them all. I wish I was all caught up from vacation so I could sort them all into date order and start copying and transcribing! Looks like I'll need some more binders!

 Born on this date in 1875: Leslie Chinn, son of Christopher Columbus Chinn and Margaret Cordelia Warren.

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes

More on James Rankin Jr

I'm near the end of my scanning and transcription project and just scanned a 12 page letter from my dad's Aunt Bessie (Bowman) Rankin, in which she tells some family secrets, and discusses her paralyzed son James*. See my blog from last week entitled It was a Bad Decade.

At one point, Aunt Bessie tells of bringing in someone who was teaching paralytics to walk. Supposedly, one of his patient's was a nephew of Franklin Roosevelt. I can't find anything that says FDR's nephew was paralyzed. Not that it surprises me, because Roosevelt kept a tight lid on his paralysis. We know now, but at the time few people knew he couldn't walk much. Apparently the press was less invasive then.

I can't imagine what it was like for someone in 1932 to lose the use of most of his limbs. By January of 1934, in the height of the depression, his parents were spending their wealth on his care. And James claimed he could feel his legs burning when with the help of nurses his parents stood him up. No bodily function was too unimportant to write about either. And Aunt Bessie does, in great detail.

My dad always told me that James was as helpless as a baby and couldn't even feed himself, and I wonder about it. I do know that he went on to graduate from college in 1940, seven years after his accident. In 1945 he married Amelia Schlenken. According to dad, she was also paralyzed. They lived with Aunt Bessie until James' death in 1958. Bessie died on New Year's eve in 1960. Amelia died in 2000.

(Left) James Jr., James (Jamie) Sr & Bessie (Bowman) Rankin before James Jr's life-changing accident.

 (Right) James Rankin Jr, February 1940 after receiving his degree from Pomona College. Click on the image to read the caption. Don't forget to use your browser's back button to return to this page.


* While looking for information on C6 (6th cervical vertebra) injuries, I discovered that one-third of all cervical injuries are caused by diving accidents. James was fortunate to survive. Ironically, his best friend, Dick Edmunds, who helped rescue James died in his sleep in early 1934 of a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes