A Marriage, Part III

Official title of this document is Marriage Certificate to Clergymen and Magistrates. It is an addition to the Marriage License for the presiding clergy or judge to complete. Since these came out so small on the blog, here is what it says (handwritten items in italics):

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

to Clergymen and Magistrates

The license and certificate duly signed by the person who shall have solemnized the marriage therein authorized shall be returned by him to the office of the town or city clerk who issued the same on or before the tenth day of the month next succeeding the date of the solemnizing of the marriage therein authorized and any person or persons who shall willfully neglect to make such return within the time above required shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars or more than fifty dollars for each and every offense.

I, Rev. James J. Roche, a clergyman residing at 1917 Eleventh St. in the town of Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and the State of New York, do hereby certify that I did on this 1st day of June in the year A.D. 1922 at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, solemnize the rites of matrimony between Leo Francis O'Keefe of Niagara Falls in the county of Niagara and the State of New York, and Leona Esther Fields of Niagara Falls in the county of Niagara and the State of New York in the presence of Joseph O'Keefe and Loretta Brown as witness, and the license therefor is hereto annexed.

Witness my hand at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara this 1st day of June A.D. 1922
In presence of
Joseph O'Keefe
Loretta Brown
(signatures of witness)

Rev. James J. Roche
(signature of Person Performing Ceremony)

Niagara Falls, NY
(Address of Person Performing Ceremony)


According to the 1920 Census, Rev. James Roche was a Catholic Priest and Head Pastor. The address given is for the Sacred Heart Church. He would have been approximately 73 at the time of the marriage (if his age in the census is correct) and had immigrated to the U.S. in 1860 from Ireland.

A Marriage (in several blogs)

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This is the wedding photograph of Leo O'Keefe ad Leona Fields; they are seated in front. Behind them are the Maid of Honor, Loretta Brown, and Best Man, Joseph O'Keefe. Loretta is Leona's best friend (and would continue to be for years to come) and Joseph is Leo's older brother. The date is June 1st, 1922 and they are in Niagara Falls, NY. No, not just for their honeymoon - they lived there!

I love wedding photos. Not only do they document the actual event (what they wore, what they looked like, etc) but they hint at so much unseen. What were their hopes, dreams and plans? How'd they meet, what was their courtship like? What were they like?

This much I do know from family interviews: Leo and Leona met on a blind date. At the time, Leo was working a Delivery Person for Hackett's Grocery Store, located on Main near 3rd in Niagara. No Webvan deliveries here! Leo drove a horse and wagon, and his duties included taking care of the horse! He lived above the barn where the horse was kept.

Over the next several blogs, I will be posting their marriage certificate & attachments -- all three pages. The city of Niagara Falls didn't fool around when it came to documentation! Most of the marriage licenses I find are only one page or just an entry in a church record book. I'll be doing a page a blog to keep from having an Energizer blog (one that just keeps going and going....).