An Historic Fiftieth Anniversary in Pelham During 1922

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A Golden Wedding Anniversary is a grand and glorious event, though rarely an historic event.  Yet, one such anniversary celebrated on Tuesday, November 14, 1922 rose to the level of an historic event in the little Town of Pelham.

That day, "anyone who was anyone" in the Town of Pelham attended a grand celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Isaac Carpenter Hill and Emma Jane Lovecraft Hill who were married in what was then the tiny little village of Mount Vernon on November 13, 1872.

Isaac C. Hill was one of the most significant and transformative public education figures in the early history of the Town of Pelham.  At the time of his marriage to Emma Jane Lovecraft in 1872, he was a school teacher in White Plains.  His new wife was a school teacher in Mount Vernon.  After the pair wedded, Isaac Hill moved to Mount Vernon.

In 1877, Isaac Hill became the "Principal" of the old Prospect Hill School on Split Rock Road.  Although he was designated the Principal, the tiny school was a one-room schoolhouse.  He was the only teacher.  

Prospect Hill Schoolhouse in an Undated Photograph.

Image Courtesy of the Office of the Historian of the Town of Pelham.

982 Split Rock Road Which Incorporates the Old Prospect

Hill Schoolhouse. Photograph by the Author, 2004.

I have written about Isaac C. Hill and his career in education before.  See, e.g.:

Tue., Sep. 27, 2005:  Isaac C. Hill's Reminiscences of Early Public Schools in Pelham. 

Tue., Mar. 28, 2006:  More Reminiscences of Isaac C. Hill of Early Public Schools in Pelham. 

Mon., Aug. 11, 2014:  Excerpts of January 8, 1889 Remarks Dedicating a New School Building in Pelhamville.

Mon., Jan. 12, 2015:  Isaac C. Hill, Involved with Pelham Education for Forty-Five Years, Retired in 1922.

On Tuesday, November 14, 1922, more than one hundred guests gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac C. Hill to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of the couple.  The gathering grew so large that an adjacent neighbor opened a nearby home to receive many of the guests who could not fit into the home of the Hills on Third Avenue in the Village of North Pelham.  

The celebration lasted from the early hours of the morning until the evening.  Rev. Herbert Haight Brown, pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in the Village of North Pelham, read the original marriage certificate of the couple to the crowd.  The couple also exhibited original wedding invitations from their ceremony in 1872 as well as a beautiful locket that contained "miniatures" of the couple at the time of their marriage.  The organist of the Church of the Redeemer played the wedding march from Richard Wagner's 1850 opera "Lohengrin."

Supper was served to nearly one hundred guests.  Isaac and Emma Jane Hill entertained the guests with a beautiful and remarkable duet "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," with Mrs. Hill playing the accompaniment on the piano.  According to The Pelham Sun "The steadiness of their voices was remarkable.  Despite their fifty years of married life and their advancing years, neither of them could be called old.  The passing years have only added maturity."

The Pelham Sun posted a lengthy list of the many astounding gifts that the couple received as well as a lengthy list of many of the guests who attended the grand celebration.  

Yes, because the celebration honored Isaac C. Hill, a beloved figure who devoted forty-five years of his life to public education service in the Town of Pelham, the event was indeed an historic one now part of the history of our little Town of Pelham.

"MR. AND MRS. ISAAC C. HILL

Pelham couple who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding

at their Third avenue home last Monday.  They were married in the

Village of Mount Vernon in 1872.  Source:  Many Congratulations For

Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding -- Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of

Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With

Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the

Village of Mount Vernon In 1872, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, Vol.

13, No. 38, p. 1, cols. 3-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Many Congratulations For Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding
-----
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the Village of Mount Vernon In 1872.
-----

It is seldom that a golden wedding anniversary is celebrated in the Pelhams, and still more seldom that such a celebration is attended with such unusual outpourings of affection and esteem as characterized the commemoration of fifty years of wedded life last Tuesday by Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Carpenter Hill of Third avenue, North Pelham.  From early morning hours until late in the evening visitors paid their respects to the happy couple, telegrams poured in from out of town friends.  Tokens of affection in wonderful array were brought and sent by their friends and the attendance at the reception held in the evening was such that the home of a neighbor was thrown open to receive some of the guests.  The home on Third avenue was beautifully decorated, being a veritable bower of chrysanthemums, roses, asters and autumn foliage mingled with artistic embellishments which made it a fairyland.

Features of the evening reception were the reading by Rev. H. H. Brown of the original marriage certificate, the exhibiting of the original wedding invitations and a locket containing miniatures of Mr. and Mrs. Hill at the time of their marriage.  Miss Peterson of Pelhamwood, organist of the Church of the Redeemer, played the wedding march from 'Lohen-

Continued on page 4

Golden Wedding Celebration
-----
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill Celebrated Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary Last Tuesday
-----
Continued from page 1

grin'

Supper was served to almost one hundred guests, the tables being hosted by Mr. and Mrs. David Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ward, Mrs. Oscar Strieffler, and the Misses Iona, Helen and [illegible] Lyon, nieces of Mr. and Mrs. David Lyon.

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill were married on November 13, 1872, by Rev. Charles Seymour, rector, at Trinity Church in the then village of Mount Vernon.  At that time Mr. Hill was a teacher in the public schools in White Plains and Mrs. Hill, then Miss Emma Jane Lovecraft, officiated in like manner in the Mount Vernon schools.

Five years after their marriage, Mr. Hill came from Mount Vernon to become principal of the old Prospect School at Pelham Manor.  For forty-five years he has been identified with the educational system of The Pelhams, recently retiring from membership of the Board of Education, having closed his work as principal of Hutchinson School in 1914.  He has been a member of the vestry of the Church of the Redeemer for forty-[illegible] years and is now clerk of that body.  Mrs. Hill was for fourteen years organist of the same church and is still actively identified with the work of the parish as a member of the Parish Guild.  Both are beloved by members of the congregation.  

An interesting feature of the celebration was the singing by Mr. and Mrs. Hill of a duet 'When You and I Were Young, Maggie,' Mrs. Hill playing the accompaniment on the piano.  The steadiness of their voices was remarkable.  Despite their fifty years of married life and their advancing years, neither of them could be called old.  The passing years have only added maturity.

An interesting guest at the ceremonies was Mr. and Mrs. Charles Doad Hill of White Plains, who also celebrated their golden wedding [anniversary] on September 29th of this year.  Charles Hill is Isaac Hill's brother.

Among the list of gifts which were displayed in three rooms, owing to their great number, were the following:

Flowers, Parish Guild of the Church of the Redeemer; gold mounted cane, Vestry of the Church of the Redeemer; Tiffany-topaz brooch, Parish Guild of the Church of the Redeemer; $10 gold piece, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Hill; gold and white dresser set, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lyon; gold match box and cameo brooch, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook; gold tea tile, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Herman; gold and glass cracker and cheese dish, Mrs. R. Hewitt; gold thimble, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Lyon; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Sobel; gold pepper and salts, Mrs. M. Calderwood; gold dish, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hacker; two gold mounted fountain pens, Mr. and Mrs. A. Anderson; gold scarf pin, M. J. Lynch; gold bar pin, Miss Mary Lynch; old gold boudoir lamp, Mr. and Mrs. J. Lyon; oil painting, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Shinn; gold thermos bottle, Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Lyon; embroidered pillow cases, the Misses Hewitt; gold and glass syrup pitcher, Mrs. W. Lyon and Mrs. Vander-Roest; gold and glass vase, Judge and Mrs. I. B. Louis; gold and glass dish, Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Rice; flowers, Wm. Edinger; gold dish, Harry A. Anderson; Ovington cup and saucer, Mrs. and Miss Offinger; Ovington cup and saucer, Mr. and Mrs. M. Offinger; $5 gold piece, Prof. and Mrs. A. B. Davis; embroidered pillow cases, E. Merritt; flowers, Miss Agnes Ward; gold and glass dish, F. Case; gold piece, $2.50, Mrs. McGalliard; book, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wirth; thermos bottle, Mrs. J. Brengel; cigars, J. Brengel; cigars, Mrs. Eugene Meyer; Japanese tray, Mr. and Mrs. O. Strieffler; gold bon-bon dish, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker; flowers, the Misses Aspenleiter; gold and glass dish, Miss Ellen Freshney; flowers, Mrs. John B. Clegg; gold and glass dish, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Dobbs; filet lace scarf, Mrs. John Lowery; gold thimble, Mr. and Mrs. G. I. Karback; Tatting handkerchief; Mrs. H. I. Jones, gold tie clasp, Geo. Busteed; gold vanity pins, Mrs. Geo. Busteed; cigars, K. S. Durham; gold and glass mayonnaise bowl, Mrs. K. S. Durham; gold and glass dish, Mrs. MacCloud, Mrs. Rigg; gold and glass dish, Mrs. Hatch; box chocolates, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hazen; hand painted mayonnaise bowl, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mollenhagen; flowers, Mrs. Godfrey Oden; bronze placque, Mr. and Mrs. J. Gulatsi; towel set, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe; peppers and salts, Mrs. Merz, and daughter; flowers, Mrs. Kate Mulligan; gold fish, the little Brengels; basket of flowers, Mr. and Mrs. B. Dick; peppers and salts, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick; flowers, Mrs. E. Semmons; cut glass vase and flowers, Mr. and Mrs. R. Scott; guest book, Rev. and Mrs. F. Anderson; peppers and salts, Mr. and Mrs. H. Blakeloke; bottle wine, Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Kennedy; flowers, Mrs. Merz; gold dish, Dr. and Mrs. Bryer; condiment set, Mr. and Mrs. J. Heisser; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. T. James; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Griffin; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Griffin; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. John Norman; flowers, Mr. and Miss Louis Kurtz; Pickard china gold plate, Mrs. Mary Dickinson; gold syrup jug and plate, Congressman and Mrs. Ben L. Fairchild.

One of the first to offer congratulations was Mrs. Hatch, who made Mrs. Hill's wedding gown fifty years ago.

Among those who attended the ceremonies and tendered personal congratulations were:  Prof. and Mrs. A. B. Davis, Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Rice, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott, Mr. and Mrs. J. Brengel, Mrs. Mary Offinger, Miss J. Offinger, of Mt. Vernon; Miss Florence Busteel, of Bronxville; Mrs. Fannie Hatch of New York City, Mr. and Mrs. O. Strieffler, Mr. William Ernst, Mrs. Wm. Barry, Miss Agnes Ward, of New York City; Mr. and Mrs. MacCloud, Mrs. Riggs, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Hill of Mt. Kisco; Mrs. A. F. Kitchel of Sound Beach, Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Van de Water, Mrs. George Lawrence, Mrs. Wm. Twells Tiers, Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Wardrop, Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Harper, Mrs. Frederick Davies, H. J. Bickford, Judge A. N. Menkel, D. A. Kennedy, E. O. Bartlett, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook, Mrs. H. J. Carell, Miss Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. H. Chase, Miss Chae, Mrs. H. I. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Hoff, Rev. H. H. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. J. Ward, Mr. Edgar Merritt, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Shinn, Mrs. Robert Hewitt, Mr. and Mrs. M. Fitzpatrick, Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Anderson, Harry Anderson, J. Rolus, Jr., Mrs. Walter Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hacker, Miss Helen Hewitt, the Misses Aspenleiter, Mr. and Mrs. Mm. Dobbs, Mrs. Ernest Mann, Mrs. F. Semmons, Mr. and Mrs. H. Blakelock, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ryan, Mrs. E. McGalliard, Mr. and Mrs. John Clegg, Mrs. Edward Temple, Miss Susan Singer, Mrs. Vander Roest, Mrs. Grace Lyones, Judge and Mrs. I. B. Louis, Thomas M. Kennett, Miss Ione Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Zoebel, Mrs. Matthew Herman, Mrs. M. Calderwood, Miss Helen Lyon, Mr. M. J. Lynch, Miss Mary Lynch, Mr. and Mrs. H. Playle, Mrs. Carew, Mrs. W. B. Lyon and little Eleanor, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Fassler, Miss Anita Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. J. Buchanan, Mr. and Mrs. J. Gulatsi, Mr. John Lowery, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Offinger, Mrs. G. I. Karback, Mrs. Loretta Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Young, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mollenhagen, Rev. Dr. Louis G. Leary, Mrs. Godfrey Oden, Mrs. Kate Mulligan, Miss Mulligan, Mr. and Mrs. A. Monroe, Mrs. Merz, Miss Emma Merz, Miss L. Merz, Mr. Wm. Edinger, Mrs. Augusta Keller, Mrs. Thomas Barker, Miss Caroline Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barker, Mrs. Harriet Barker, Mrs. Mary Dickinson.

Over a hundred telegrams and letters were received.  From Congressman and Mrs. Ben L. Fairchild at Washington came hearty congratulations; others arrived from Kansas City, Rochester, N. Y., Syracuse, Danbury, Ct., North Hero, Vt., and other places.

Mr. and Mrs. Hill wish to take this opportunity of thanking all their many friends for their wonderful expressions of good will."

Source:  Many Congratulations For Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding -- Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the Village of Mount Vernon In 1872, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, Vol. 13, No. 38, p. 1, cols. 3-4 & p. 4, cols. 1-4.

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A Hasty Wedding at the Oakshade Mansion Near Bartow-on-the-Sound in 1898 Sheds Light on the History of the Mansion

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An interesting account of a hastily-arranged wedding at Bartow-on-the-Sound in early 1898 has shed some interesting light on the history of the mansion known as "Oakshade" that once stood along today's Shore Road not far from the carriage house of the Bartow-Pell Mansion.  I have written extensively about the history of Oakshade.  See Mon., Mar. 03, 2014:  The Suydam Estate known as “Oakshade” on Shore Road in the Town of Pelham, built by James Augustus Suydam.

Built in about 1846 by James Augustus Suydam, an architect, lawyer, and artist, on land that Suydam and his sister purchased from Robert Bartow and his wife, Maria R. Bartow, Oakshade was a grand mansion built in the "Italian villa style" that commanded a lovely view of Pelham Neck and Long Island Sound.  The mansion later became the home of Dr. Richard Lewis Morris, a grandson of General Lewis Morris of Morrisania, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  After the death of Dr. Morris, the home became the clubhouse of the Country Club of Pelham until the club departed for a new site on Throgg's Neck in 1889.  After the creation of Pelham Bay Park and the annexation of the area by New York City, Oakshade was altered and leased by the City to serve as a roadhouse known as the Pell Tree Inn then, later, Shanley's Pell Tree Inn and, even later, as the California Ramblers Inn.  Near the end of its life, the mansion became the Hollywood Gardens until it was destroyed by fire on October 15, 1932.

Undated Post Card view of the Suydam Mansion Known as

"Oakshade" After its Conversion to a Roadhouse; Post Card

Ca. 1918-1923; Notation on Card Says: "SHANLEY'S PELL

TREE INN. Pelham Shore Road, N.Y."  NOTE:  Click on Image

to Enlarge.

In detailing the history of Oakshade, I previously noted that "Like other mansions within the boundaries of the new Pelham Bay Park, Oakshade seems to have languished for a number of years after the lands on which it stood were annexed by New York City in the mid-1890's. No records reflecting any meaningful use of the Oakshade mansion have yet been found by this author for a number of years after the departure of the Country Club of Westchester."

It turns out that a society column published in early January, 1898, sheds light on how Oakshade was used during a least a portion of the 1890s.  It served as the "country place at Bartow-on-the-Sound" of the famed Ogden family, likely leased by that family from the City of New York.

In early 1898, New York Society awaited the wedding of two well-connected young people:  Miss Charlotte Ogden and Mr. Edward N. Dickerson schedule for early February of that year.  Charlotte Ogden was a daughter of John R. Odgen, Sr.

The Ogden family owned and leased a number of homes in the Town of Pelham very near Hawkswood built by Levin R. Marshall including one on the easterly island of the Twin Islands and another at Pelham Bridge on the Pelham side of Pelham Bay.  One of Levin R. Marshall's daughters, Josephine E. Marshall, by his second wife, married a member of the Ogden family of Pelham:  John Routh Ogden, Sr., Charlotte's father.  

With New York Society eagerly anticipating the upcoming wedding of Charlotte and Edward, Charlotte's brother, John R. Ogden, Jr., became seriously ill with appendicitis.  A decision was made to hold Charlotte's and Edward's wedding as soon as possible -- before Charlotte's brother underwent the dangerous and life-threatening surgery he needed.  Though neither the bride's wedding gown nor the groom's suit were ready, the family contacted only the closest friends and relatives who promptly gathered at Oakshade for a hastily-arranged ceremony.  According to an account of the wedding:

"notes and telegrams were quickly despatched to the most intimate friends of the Ogdens and Dickersons, asking them to gather at Oakshade, the Ogden country place, at Bartow on Sound, at half-past twelve o'clock yesterday afternoon, to witness the marriage ceremony. . . . The bride was given away by her father, in the prettiest costume available, for of course the wedding garments were not prepared.  There was a breakfast after the ceremony, and although many of those invited at the unavoidably eleventh hour had previous engagements, quite a brave showing of New York society journeyed out to Bartow.  Among those present were Mrs. Dickerson, Mr. and Mrs. Newbold Edgar, Mr. and Mrs. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the Misses Van Rensselaer, Mr. and Mrs. S. Duncan Marshall, Dr. and Mrs. William M. Polk, Miss Edith Wetmore, Miss Keteltas, Mr. Henry W. Bibby, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Jackson, Miss Nevins, Miss Turnbull, the Messrs. Turnbull, Miss Schuyler, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Russell, Mrs. Henry D. Phelps, Mrs. Robert Temple Emmet, the Misses Emmet, Mrs. C. D. Halsey, Mr. and Mrs. Frank K. Hunter and a few others."

Oakshade, it seems, was leased and used as an Ogden family country estate during at least some portion of 1890s during which it was used for Charlotte Ogden's and Edward N. Dickerson's wedding in early January, 1898.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is an image of Charlotte Ogden and the text of an article that appeared with that image.  Both are followed by a citation and link to the source.

"MRS. EDWARD N. DICKERSON (nee Ogden)."

Source:  HASTY WEDDING DUE TO ILLNESS -- J.R.

Odgen, Jr., To Be Operated Upon and His Sister

and Edward Dickerson Suddenly Marry -- AT BARTOW

ON THE SOUND -- Only a Few Intimate Friends Were

Present, Hurriedly Collected for the Unexpected Ceremony

-- DATE WAS SET FOR FEBRUARY, N.Y. Herald, Jan. 6,

1898, p. 11, col. 4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"HASTY WEDDING DUE TO ILLNESS.
-----
J.R. Odgen, Jr., To Be Operated Upon and His Sister and Edward Dickerson Suddenly Marry.
-----
AT BARTOW ON THE SOUND.
-----
Only a Few Intimate Friends Were Present, Hurriedly Collected for the Unexpected Ceremony.
-----
DATE WAS SET FOR FEBRUARY.
-----

A wedding to which society looked forward with great interest was that of Miss Charlotte Ogden, and Mr. Edward N. Dickerson.  The date was fixed for early in February, and such great favorites are the young couple and so wide their circle of acquaintances that one of the largest and most fashionable marriages of the season was assured.

Preparations were being busily made for the ceremony.  The bride to be had chosen her bridesmaids, had decided upon their costumes, while her own confection of white satin and lace was already in the modiste's hands.  The groom to be had likewise selected his best man and ushers and was generally making those pre-nuptial preparations which every young man of fashion finds inevitable.

PLANS HURRIEDLY CHANGED.

All this was not to be, however.  A few days ago Mr. John R. Ogden, Jr., the bride's brother, an only son, showed unmistakable symptoms of appendicitis.  His condition was such the day before yesterday that the physicians declared an operation could be delayed for only a day or two.  A hurried family council was called, and taking into consideration the danger of the operation and the possible results, it was decided to have the marriage take place at once.  

The wedding, though, must by no means be a sad one, even if it were contrived over night.  So notes and telegrams were quickly despatched to the most intimate friends of the Ogdens and Dickersons, asking them to gather at Oakshade, the Ogden country place, at Bartow on Sound, at half-past twelve o'clock yesterday afternoon, to witness the marriage ceremony.

BRAVE SHOW OF FRIENDS.

The bride was given away by her father, in the prettiest costume available, for of course the wedding garments were not prepared.  There was a breakfast after the ceremony, and although many of those invited at the unavoidably eleventh hour had previous engagements, quite a brave showing of New York society journeyed out to Bartow.

Among those present were Mrs. Dickerson, Mr. and Mrs. Newbold Edgar, Mr. and Mrs. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the Misses Van Rensselaer, Mr. and Mrs. S. Duncan Marshall, Dr. and Mrs. William M. Polk, Miss Edith Wetmore, Miss Keteltas, Mr. Henry W. Bibby, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Jackson, Miss Nevins, Miss Turnbull, the Messrs. Turnbull, Miss Schuyler, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Russell, Mrs. Henry D. Phelps, Mrs. Robert Temple Emmet, the Misses Emmet, Mrs. C. D. Halsey, Mr. and Mrs. Frank K. Hunter and a few others."

Source:  HASTY WEDDING DUE TO ILLNESS -- J.R. Odgen, Jr., To Be Operated Upon and His Sister and Edward Dickerson Suddenly Marry -- AT BARTOW ON THE SOUND -- Only a Few Intimate Friends Were Present, Hurriedly Collected for the Unexpected Ceremony -- DATE WAS SET FOR FEBRUARY, N.Y. Herald, Jan. 6, 1898, p. 11, col. 4. 

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The Mystery of the Missing Bridegroom: Pelhamville Rocked by Mystery in 1893

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The newly-built Church of the Redeemer was full and was decorated gloriously for a lovely wedding.  The pews were packed with guests.  The organist was in the organ loft ready to play the wedding march.  The prospective bride was radiant in her wedding gown and stood in the vestibule with her beaming father who was ready to walk her down the aisle.  All that was missing from that perfect autumn day on October 5, 1893 was . . . the bridegroom!

An hour passed with no bridegroom.  Finally, the Rev. Dr. Cornelius W. Bolton was forced to address the assembled guests.  He announced that the wedding would be "postponed."  

The bride fainted.  According to one account, she "had to be carried home in a carriage, and now lies in critical condition from shock.  It is feared that she will lose her reason."

The case of the missing bridegroom caused a sensation.  Newspapers in cities as far away as Washington, D.C. published stories about the mystery.  Where was the bridegroom?  What had happened?  Why did he fail to appear at his own wedding?  The prospective bride simply refused to believe that she had been left at the altar.  She feared that her beloved had met with foul play.  

Two days later, the bridegroom showed up.  He had a wild story that strained credulity.  Yet, according to an account published at the time, "He spoke earnestly and apparently truthfully."

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of two articles published at the time that detailed these strange events.  To find out what happened, and whether the prospective bride married her beau or kicked him to the curb, read the remainder of today's posting. . . . 

1910 Post Card View of the Church of the Redeemer
Which Was Newly-Built When the Wedding Was Scheduled
To Be Held on October 5, 1893.

"HE COMETH NOT, SHE SAID.
-----
Mystery Connected With the Disappearance of a Bridegroom.

A special to the New York World from Mount Vernon, N.Y., says:  Pelhamville, a hamlet one mile east of this city, has a sensation.  Miss Kate, the pretty nineteen-year-old daughter of George McGalliard, a well-to-do mason and builder of New York city, was to have been married to MacDonald Cross, a middle-aged widower, employed by the Wilson Adams Lumber Company of this city, but he failed to meet her at the altar.

Cross came here six months ago from Glen's Falls.  He owns considerable property in that city.  
He had not been in Pelhamville long when he met Miss McGalliard.  He paid frequent visits to her home and was well liked by everybody there.  Shortly after meeting her he proposed and was accepted.  The wedding day was set for a week ago, but on account of the bride being taken ill it was postponed until last Monday.  Invitations had been sent out for the wedding, which was to have been celebrated at the Church of the Redeemer, in this village, by the Rev. Dr. Bolton.

At the appointed time the church was crowded.  The pastor was in his study awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom to sign the marriage license, the organist was in the organ loft ready to play the wedding march and the bride, dressed in her wedding gown, was in the vestibule with her father waiting for the bridegroom.

An hour passed and he did not put in an appearance.  The Rev. Mr. Bolton had to announce to the guests that the wedding must be postponed.  The bride fainted, and had to be carried home in a carriage, and now lies in critical condition from shock.  It is feared that she will lose her reason.

Miss McGalliard will not believe that she has been deserted.  She fears that Mr. Cross has met with foul play or has been taken suddenly ill in New York.

On Saturday Mr. Cross spent the evening with his intended.  He had already given her the wedding ring to take care of, but on that evening asked her for it, so that he could have a proper inscription engraved on the inside of it.  Miss McGalliard gave it to him, and he parted with her and said that he would call on Sunday.  He did not do so, but the young lady thought nothing of it.  

Cross' absence and strange conduct is a mystery."

Source:  HE COMETH NOT, SHE SAID, The Evening Star [Washington, D.C.], Oct. 5, 1893, p. 8, col. 2.  

"THE MISSING BRIDEGROOM.
-----
Croff's Strange Story of Why He Was Not at the Marriage Altar.

Kitty Byrd McGilliard, the pretty nineteen-year-old daughter of George McGilliard, a wealthy contractor of Pelhamville, N. Y., who was to have been married on Monday last to Isaac McD. Croff, a widower who lives at Mt. Vernon, N. Y., but who failed to appear, as narrated in yesterday's Star, has been married at last.

Croff returned to Pelhamville Wednesday night about 5:30 and at 7:30 the Rev. C. Bolton was called to the McGilliard residence, where he tied the nuptial knot.  

To a reporter who called at the McGilliard residence yesterday afternoon Mr. Croff told a remarkable story and apparently truthfully.  

'On Monday morning last,' he said, 'the day I was to be married, I left Mount Vernon for New York, where I desired to make some purchases.  I had very nearly $600 in my pockets when I started.  I made my purchases in the city and took them to Mendel's package office at the 42d street depot, as I desired to go and see a lady who had been a most excellent friend of mine and tell her I was to be married.  Her name I do not care to give, as I do not consider it necessary.  

'After I had called on the lady in question.  I started to walk to the Grand Central depot.  When I reached 57th street and 8th avenue, I glanced at my watch and discovered I had but ten minutes in which to reach the depot in time to take the 1:02 train for Pelhamville.  Seeing a cab standing by the curb, apparently disengaged, with the driver on the box, I stepped in and told him to drive me to the Grand Central depot as quickly as he could.  While I spoke, two strangers, well dressed, followed me into the cab, one of them saying, as he got in:  'This is the best chance we have had in a year.'  I paid no attention to them or the remark, and the driver started off at a rapid pace.  

'Suddenly, before I could make a move, one of them (I noticed he was tall and had a gray mustache and wore a silk hat) sprang toward me and grasped me by the throat with one hand, while the other man, a short, thick-set fellow, pushed a handkerchief under my nose.  This is the last thing of which I have any recollection until I found myself on Wednesday morning, two days after, standing two blocks away from the depot in Troy, N. Y. [Editor's Note:  North of Albany, about 155 miles away.]  I was too bewildered to know where I was, and I felt weak and sick.  

'I examined my pockets and found that all my money was gone except what I had stowed away in one of my inside pockets.  I believe the two men took the $567.  At any rate it was gone; also my watch and two rings, which I wore on my finger.  One of them I valued very highly.  The wedding ring which I was to use was also gone.  I then telegraphed to Pelhamville that I was in Troy, and did not know how I got there.  This is all I can say except that I called on Dr. Carlisle of Mount Vernon, and he, after a thorough examination of me, said that I was suffering from a strong dose of chloroform, but would be all right in a few days.  

'I intend to go to New York and see Supt. Byrnes and lay the facts before him.  I am a poor man, and the loss of that money, at present, is the loss of a fortune to me.  You might also say that Mrs. Croff and I will start on our wedding trip tomorrow night.'

Croff's truthfulness has never been questioned before, and all his neighbors in Pelhamville believe his story."

Source:  THE MISSING BRIDEGROOM, The Evening Star [Washington, D.C.], Oct. 6, 1893, p. 7, col. 3.  See also KITTY MARRIED AT LAST, The Anaconda Standard, Oct. 26, 1893, p. 7, col. 1; Why He Was Not Married. -- Mr. Croff of Pelhamville Says He Was Chloroformed and Robbed in a Cab, N.Y. Times, Oct. 6, 1893, p. 3; THE BRIDEGROOM RETURNED -- Mr. Croff Tells a Remarkable Story of Adventure, The Indianapolis News, Oct. 7, 1893, p. 1, col. 4; A BRIDEGROOM MISSING, The Sun [NY, NY], Oct. 4, 1893, p. 1, col. 6.  

I have written about this strange turn of events that included a happy ending before.  See Thu., Apr. 21, 2005:  Can You Imagine What The Bride's Father Was Ready To Do?

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