Peter P and Margaretha Epp Buller

Now that we have explored all that we can at this time related to Peter D and Sarah’s farms, we can circle back and examine several documents that came to my attention over the past few months. The first one, the subject of this post, dates to February 1890, a little more than a decade after Peter D, Sarah, and their children arrived on the Nebraska plains. That early document, shown below, is the marriage record for Peter and Sarah’s second child (and my great-grandfather): Peter P Buller  (for a full-size version, see here).

The record was filed in York County, as indicated by the heading at the top. Year after year, the marriage records for the county were recorded in a series of books. This particular record was entered on page 559 (see upper right corner) of book C, which spanned 1886 to 1890.

The record consists of three parts: (1) an application for a marriage license, (2) the license itself, and (3) a record of the marriage ceremony.

1. We see in the upper portion of this record that Peter Buller and Maggie Epp applied for a marriage license on 22 February 1890. The application was made before the York County judge, whom we learn further on was named Edward Bates. Peter was twenty years old, Maggie nineteen. Apparently the law at that time required a groom under the age of twenty-one to have the consent of at least one parent; the bride required no such consent. In this instance, the affidavit states “that his father gives consent to such marriage.” Another York County record from this time states that the groom’s father gave his consent in open court. Whether Peter D did the same is unknown.

Curiously, the affidavit begins with Peter Buller, age twenty (i.e., Peter P) attesting that he is “acquainted with Mr. Peter Buller and Miss Maggie Epp, who are parties for the marriage” and that they “may lawfully contract and be joined in marriage.” In other words, Peter P was acting as his own witness in the matter. Although one would expect that this role was intended to be filled by some other party (a friend or a family member), a quick perusal of the York County records for this time period reveals that at least half of the time the groom served as his own witness. Thus, what seems curious to us was rather common in 1890.

The application also includes a section for recording the age, color, place of birth, residence, father’s name, and mother’s maiden name for the groom and the bride. Below this we see a statement that the preceding information was “subscribed and sworn to,” followed by the signature of applicant, that is, the groom, and the signature and title of the person to whom the application was made: Edward Bates, York County judge.

2. The marriage license, which was issued the same day, 22 February 1890, confirmed the acceptance of the application: “License is hereby granted to any person authorized to solemnize marriages according to the laws of said State [i.e., Nebraska], to join in marriage” Peter Buller and Maggie Epp. After repeating the age, color, place of birth, residence, father’s name, and mother’s maiden name for the groom and the bride, the license continues: “And the person joining them in marriage is required to make due return of the Annexed Certificate to the County Judge of said County, within ninety days, of the names of the parties, time and place of marriage, and by whom solemnized.” Once again, Judge Edward Bates affixed his signature.

3. The last part of the marriage record, the certificate of marriage, documented key details concerning the marriage ceremony. First, the marriage between Peter and Margaret, as the certificate has it, took place on 27 February 1890, five days after the license had been issued. The ceremony took place at “Cornelius Epps,” that is, the bride’s home—and later the home of Peter P, Margaretha, and their children. Two witnesses are listed, but I am uncertain who they were: the first appears to be Johann Bon (a last name unfamiliar to me), and the second seems to be Jacob Kroeker. At the bottom of the certificate we find the name of the person who conducted the ceremony: Peter J Friesen, minister. Friesen was a minister in the Bethesda Mennonite Church from 1883 until his death in 1909 (see here).

To be honest, our examination of Peter P and Margaretha’s record has not revealed anything surprising. We already knew from the Buller Family Record when Peter P married and whom he married. Still, we have filled in a few details: they were married at the bride’s house by the Bethesda minister, Peter J Friesen, who also (according to GRANDMA) baptized both Peter and Margaretha.

Beyond that, the marriage record does provide us an increased sense of familiarity with our distant ancestors. The person whom we identify as Margaretha, for example, was known more formally as Margaret (very much an American form of her name) and was simply Maggie to her husband-to-be. It is a small insight into their relationship, I admit, but knowing my great-grandmother’s nickname makes her seem a little less distant than she was before, now some 135 years after her wedding day.