Phyllis wrote: > This is so funny I hadnt thought of this before > But when my Grandmother married in 1918 in Ky that was > her tale My Grandfather came to her house with license > an preacher in hand she had no ideal he was goin to do > either But she married him anyway Thought you all might enjoy the following, which by coincidence I posted to the Sprinkle List earlier today. It confirms that the woman did not have to be present for the license to be issued. This "lucky" lady had 3 men obtain licenses to marry her :-) Ogden Standard Examiner 27 Mar 1890 A Race For a Wife Three Men Want the Same Woman and Make the Start Three Licenses Issued for Marriage to the Same Lady and the Contestants Hurry to Wed the Bride [Standard Special - S.F. Chronicle Service] Akron, Ohio, March 26 - Shortly before noon to-day Jacob H. Sprankle, the well-known farmer of Mogadore, hastily drove up to the court house and procured a marriage license for himself and Miss Lucinda Snyder. After receiving the precious document, he asked whether another license had been issued for some one else to marry the same girl and on being answered affirmatively he grew very excited and left post haste for Mogador to claim his bride. He had scarcely left when another swain appeared in the person of Samuel P. Creamer, who very deliberately took out a license for himself and Lucinda Snyder. Being informed of Sprankle's visit, Creamer held a short consultation with friends and they were said to have boarded a south bound valley train for Krumroy station, three miles from Mogadore. If he meets with no mishap Creamer will be able to arrive before Sprankle. The race for a wife apparently thus narrows down to a test of the railroad and a sturdy pair of legs against horse and buggy. All the parties are well to do and quite prominent. - - end transcription Well. . .did Jacob get his lady??? Apparently not :-( I found Samuel Creamer with a wife named Lucinda on the 1900 census in Akron; they have been married 10 years, so that matches. Margaret