Monday's Diggings: Mentzer Marriage Announcement

Do you remember sitting at a microfilm reader, turning the handle as you scrolled through page after page of an old newspaper looking for a marriage announcement? When you finally found what you were searching for, did you print a copy, transcribe the entire article, or simply jot down the information that seemed important at the time?

I have to admit that I sometimes chose that last option.

Printing an article from microfilm wasn’t always convenient. At the library where I was researching, I had to rewind the roll, move it to a separate reader/printer, relocate the article, and then spend a quarter to make a copy. Apparently, that was enough of an obstacle for me to decide that handwritten notes would do!

One of those sets of notes concerned the marriage of my great-grandparents, Charles O. Mentzer and Nettie E. Wells. Their wedding announcement appeared in the 20 October 1893 issue of The Yates Center News.

Fortunately, genealogy research has changed considerably since I made those handwritten notes. Thanks to the efforts of the Kansas State Historical Society to preserve and digitize Kansas newspapers, I can now access that same issue through Newspapers.com.

That means I no longer have to rely solely on my abbreviated notes. I can return to the original newspaper, save an image of the announcement, create a complete transcription, and update my source citation.

And I'm glad I did. The announcement contains much more than the basic facts of the marriage. It identifies their parents, describes Charles as a young farmer, tells us that about fifty friends and relatives attended the wedding at the Mentzer homestead, describes the meal as an example of "Kansas bounty and Kansas cooking," and even tells us where the newlyweds would make their first home.

Below is the clipping I once reduced to a few handwritten notes—along with a complete transcription of the article.

**MARRIED—**At the residence of the groom’s parents in Center township on Wednesday evening October 19, ’93, Mr. Charles O. Mentzer to Miss Nettie E. Wells, Rev. G. H. Lamb officiating.

The groom is the oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. George Mentzer of this township and is an energetic, intelligent, well to do young farmer. The bride is a daughter of the late T. K. Wells of this city and is a worthy companion for the young man whose name she now bears. About fifty friends of the two families gathered at the Mentzer homestead to witness the ceremony and help to launch the happy pair on the voyage of wedded bliss. After they twain were made one flesh the dining room became the center of interest and it was a splendid example of Kansas bounty and Kansas cooking. At a late hour the guests returned to their homes wishing bride and groom long life and prosperity, and the recipients of so many good wishes went to their own home on the George Allen farm where they will, for the future be at home to their friends. THE NEWS hopes that every happiness may attend them.