Since 1754 Gretna Green has attained mythical status as a
place for weddings. Couples eloped to
Gretna Green, on the border of Scotland to avoid the “reading of the banns”. This tradition in England posted the names of
the couples intending to marry for three Sundays prior to the wedding. This was a legal notice so that anyone had time to object to the wedding. The law did not pertain to
Scotland, and so Gretna Green became a sort of Reno or Las Vegas for quick
weddings.
I first became aware of Seabrook, New Hampshire’s wedding
reputation as the New England Gretna Green when an elderly auntie whispered to
me “They were married in Seabrook, you know” with a knowing nod. No, I didn’t know what that meant, so I had
to find out!
Sneaking
over the border to avoid parental disapproval has a long history. In Massachusetts couples could sneak over
many borders – New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Connecticut or Rhode
Island. Somehow the tiny town of Seabrook,
on the Massachusetts border, became a magnet for elopements. This tradition goes way back to the 1700s at
least. I found this passage in A
Porter Pedigree: Being an Account of the Ancestry and Descendants of Samuel and
Martha (Perley) Pporter of Chester, N.H., who were descendants of John Porter
of Salem, Mass., and of Allan Perley, of Ipswich, Mass., 1907, page 55 (available to read or download online at archive.org)
“Samuel Perley… was pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church in Seabrook, N. H., and his parish was said to be a sort of
Gretna Green for all the discontented lovers in Massachusetts.” He was pastor there from 1765 until 1775
when he removed to Cockermouth, now known as Groton, New Hampshire to be the minister
to a new church.
An
interesting place to look up some of these early Seabrook marriages is in “Marriages
of Maine Residents by Rev. Samuel Perley, 1767 – 1775”, from the New England
Historical and Genealogical Society Register,
Volume 51, pages 460 – 465 (only the
marriages of Maine residents have been extracted)
Online at http://archives.mainegenealogy.net/2011/10/marriages-of-maine-residents-by-rev.html or try this link from Chris Dunham's blog: http://nhgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/10/marriages-by-rev-samuel-perley-1767.html
The vital records of Seabrook, including
marriages, can be found online at FamilySearch.org If you can’t find your ancestor’s marriage
in their hometowns, perhaps you should be looking in the Seabrook records!
Apparently the reputation of Seabrook as the place to run to
for a quick wedding lasted until the 20th century. The
Kingston Daily Freeman from Kingston, New York, Page 3, Saturday 21 May
1938. Newspapers.com “This town is winning recognition as New
England’s Gretna Green, according to marriage license statistics recently announced
here. Last year 658 licenses were issued
to couples from all over the New England states, with the largest number from
Massachusetts. All but 13 of the couples
were married here. August had 90
marriages, while February with 14 saw the fewest nuptials. New Hampshire’s new blood-test law, which
becomes effective October 1, is expected to reduce the number.” These are impressive statistics for a small town,
which had only about 1,700 people in 1930. [US Census https://www.nh.gov/oep/data-center/documents/1930-historic.pdf
]
Seabrook
elopements are often referred to in genealogies, such as this one mentioned on
RootsWeb [update April 1, 2021 - this website is no longer available]
“Alta May
Eaton b. 10/5/1886, Warren, MA m. Edward Locke Bennett, 8/31/1909, Seabrook,
NH, eloped”. Check your oral family
history, too. Just like my auntie’s
claim, any family disapproval might have sent your ancestors to elope to Seabrook,
or to any other destination with a reputation for quick weddings. There are
probably equivalent towns to Seabrook or Gretna Green in any region of the
United States, or in other countries.
Or in this
interesting story:
The Portsmouth Herald, Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, 21 September 1939, page 8, newspapers.com
“Arrested on
Way to Seabrook to Elope, Salem, Sept.
21 – Under questioning of State Trooper Roland Savage, who arrested Frederic C.
Webber of Cambridge for driving under the influence of liquor and drunkenness,
the defendant in District Court Wednesday testified he was employed by the
Boston Red Sox. Judge Sears asked “Do
you play first base, or sell peanuts?”
Webber said the outfield or he was a batting practice pitcher and was on
the way to Seabrook N. H. to elope with Marguerite McHugh of Watertown when
arrested. He was fined $50 for driving
under the influence.”
Portsmouth Herald, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Saturday, 18
January 1936, page 1. Newspaperarchive.com
“HOLDING MAN
ON SERIOUS CHARGE, Topsfield, An
elopement that wasn’t quite an elopement landed Percy Durkee, 27 of Nichols
Street, Danvers, in the toils of the law on serious charges and the police are
seeking an 18 year old girl as a stubborn child. Durkee told the State Police that he took the
girl to Seabrook N. H. last September to be married but they were refused
because they did not have a license.
Later they returned to his home and stayed there for several days before
going to Hartford, Conn. where they sought employment. In October the girl got a job and Durkee
returned to his home. Police are puzzled
by the fact that Durkee reported the girl as missing to the local police just
about the same time that he took her to New Hampshire to be married. It was not until last night that he went to
the State police to report that she was missing. He was then accompanied by his parents and
those of the girl. Durkee told the
police that he has visited the girl at Hartford since he left her there to come
home last October. Meanwhile Durkee was
arraigned in Salem Court on serious charges (Associated Press).”
Not all
elopements caused short relationships.
Look at what I found in this obituary:
http://www.hallfuneralhomes.com/book-of-memories/2065126/Priestley-Eleanor/obituary.php?Printable=true Obituary for Eleanor Priestley, Hall’s
Funeral Home, Thomaston, Maine. "Eleanor “eloped”
with Harland “Rocky” Priestley Jr. on October 14th, 1944 in
Seabrook, N.H. They later had an
official wedding at the Congregational church in Stoneham, Mass. They also renewed their vows at the First
Baptist church in St. George on their 50th wedding anniversary.”
Have you
found any elopements or “quick weddings” in your family tree?
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Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Yes! My grandparents were married in Seabrook, NH in February 1941.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather, What a fun post! I learned that Rhode Island was a Gretna Green for Massachusetts (and Connecticut) folks until early in the 20th century after discovering, to my surprise, an ancestor's marriage notation in a Providence, RI record. Who knew? Happy Easter,
ReplyDeleteMarian