In May of 1882, Thomas Davey and his wife, Mary Nicholas Davey, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in their home surrounded by their children. They even were reunited in matrimony by their minister from the Methodist Episcopal church.
The local newspaper had a nice write-up about the event.
"Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Davey, living at No. 226 Wall street, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage at their home on Tuesday evening and were again united in marriage by Rev. Ongley, of the Methodist Episcopal church. The aged couple were married in their native country in 1832, and are blessed with seven children and eighteen grandchildren, several of whom were present on the happy occasion.
“Mrs. Davey is particularly well known as a Christian lady whose good deeds of charity have endeared her to many during her residence of twenty years in this city. Mr. Thomas Davey, after many years of faithful service as blacksmith in the Jeff. railway shops, has retired from active duty to spend the balance of his days in peace and quiet. The many friends of the couple in this city wish that the balance of their days may be joyous and prosperous and that in the end they may receive that reward which God has promised his faithful servants."[1]
I love articles like this, that give a hint to the character of the people mentioned. I wonder what good deeds she did. Did she help the poor? Was she involved in the temperance movement? Perhaps she led bible study groups. Unfortunately, I have no idea.
However, there is another newspaper in the city, and what was written about them adds to the knowledge. Here is what was written in the last paragraph:
“The News congratulates Mr. and Mrs. Davey, as well as their numerous progeny on this very happy occasion, and altough [sic] Mr. and Mrs. Davey are now 75 and 71 respectively, we trust there are many years of quiet happiness in store for them. But be this as it may, it can be truthfully said they have lead a noble life. Mrs. Davey has always been active in the temperance reform, and her husband has ever stood conscientiously for every measure he believed to be for the public good. There are few better people than Mr. and Mrs. Davey, and they are well deserving of the good old age they now enjoy."[2]
This article does mention the temperance reform. I might need to do some searching in the paper about the temperance movement in Jeffersonville. Even if she is not mentioned, I’ll learn about the organizations.”
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"Jeffersonville," Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 26 May 1882, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Davey anniversary.
"Golden Nuptials," Jeffersonville (Indiana) Evening-News, 25 May 1882, p2, Thomas & Mary Davey anniversary.
#52Ancestors-Week 51: Good Deeds
This is my seventh year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe.
I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
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