Denver City - June 4, 1861

 Post by Doris McCraw

writing as Angela Raines

Photo Property of the Author

June, the month of weddings, people getting together, socializing, and traveling. I began to wonder how that would have played out in the early days of the Rocky Mountain West. The one constant newspaper during that time was the Rocky Mountain News, so I went to see what they had to offer. Below are some of the 'articles' from June 4, 1861. Denver City was approximately two years old, and the area was still part of the Kansas Territory.

What I found fascinating in the marriage notice was how they 'gushed' about the groom and his accomplishments, with little said about the bride, other than her name. I do give them credit for waxing poetic with the quote. What do you think?

Denver City - June 4, 1861

Courtesy of The Rocky Mountain News (Daily)

Now we come to travel. Since this was a time of Westward Expansion, the paper is quick to note that while families were traveling to begin anew, their 'rival' paper was sending false reports about the troubles with the Indians. The Indian reports may or may not have been true, but the powers that be were aiming for Denver and surrounding areas to break off from Kansas Territory and have their own government closer to home.

Of course, we have to talk about getting together and socializing. As the snows were melting, some miners were planning to return to their claims. Others may have come out of the mountains and their claims, to restock their supplies. What better way than to take in a show. Entertainment was not only a great way to socialize it helped cut into the boredom and sameness of just trying to survive. Below is a 'review' of a recent show. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during the performance.

As you prepare for your summer, think about what you might have been doing on June 4, 1861. For me, I know I would have been part of the theatre group.

Until next month, take care, enjoy the summer, and happy writing.

Doris McCraw

JUNE IS THE TIME FOR WEDDINGS by Sarah J. McNeal

 A Forest Wedding

Nothing like the familiar June bride, right? Weddings can mean so many different things in a story and they don’t always take place in the traditional month of June.

There are the weddings that are for the good of merging alliances between kingdoms, political stratagems, or mutual financial gains or conquests that includes families hoping to retain their wealth. You might recall Queen Elizabeth the first who considered marrying a Spanish noble to align England with Spain. Nothing like bringing your enemy into your marriage bed. Who knew that wouldn’t work out?

 Elizabeth I and her true love, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (among many of the movie versions)

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz of Spain

Of course, sometimes this kind of marriage can elevate the positive attitude and inclusiveness to the general population of a country, or even two countries. I can’t help but think of the recent marriage of American actress, Meghan Markle to England’s much beloved Prince Harry.

Meghan and Prince Harry, now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

There are marriages of desperation like shotgun weddings when a lady’s reputation is at stake. Perhaps marriage is the only way to save someone’s life or remove them from a bad situation. There are also those desperate weddings in which either the man or the woman will marry just about anyone rather than be alone…a situation that can turn out warm and wonderful, or absolutely suck every ounce of joy from someone’s life. Many romance writers have written about mail order brides which we all love. Maybe some correspondence took place between the couple before the wedding took place, but essentially, it’s the marriage of two strangers. I imagine that online dating in this modern age is somewhat like those mail order brides marriages, and probably just as risky. Maybe they’ll actually fall in love, or maybe someone is a serial killer or a person looking for a housekeeper and babysitter. 

The OUTLANDER Series by Diana Gabaldon 
(now a TV series playing on Netflix)

My favorite desperate marriage takes place between Claire Beechum Randal and Jamie Frazier in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Lest we forget, Claire had married before in the wake of World War II and it was also a kind of a desperate marriage based on the thought, “In case one of us dies on the battlefield” sort of thing. 

I did write one of these war romances for a World War I story in FOR LOVE OF BANJO.

There are arranged marriages sometimes contracted at the birth of the future couple to forge relations between families or countries, or to keep finances within a small established group. In some countries arranged marriages are done because parents think they know best who their son or daughter should marry because marrying for love is perhaps just a foolish thing to do. The subcontinent of India still maintains the tradition of arranged marriages.

A Lovely Las Vegas Chapel Wedding

There are accidental marriages or marriages done on whimsy or too much alcohol. Hello Las Vegas! Sometimes couples meet in an exciting place or on vacation and the excitement or intoxication over rules reason. This misstep can lead to disaster or ultimately find its way into a blissful lifetime of happiness. It truly is a roll of the dice. I did write an accidental marriage once, a time travel romance, HARMONICA JOE’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, in which Lola accidentally falls back in time into a saloon in the middle of a marriage ceremony to Joe Wilding.

Naturally we all love those couples who have found love and finally get to that highly anticipated marriage that seals their love for good. I’m the sentimental sort, so I like these marriages. I’ve written several of these and always enjoy making the wedding arrangements for the couple in diverse venues from barns to open meadows to big cathedrals. Such fun! But even these long anticipated marriages can get off on the wrong foot like my Wilding romance between Kit and June in IT'S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE.

What is you favorite kind of wedding story? Are you a fan of mail order bride romances? Or what about a City Hall wedding if the couple needed to tie that knot today? Do you like to anticipate a marriage and savor every step of a courtship until it leads, finally, to that wedding finale?

What is your favorite kind of marriage in which to write? Have you ever started a romance novel with the wedding? If you have, I’d like to hear about that.

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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