The original Springhaven Country Club shortly after it was built in Wallingford about 1908
Note: The following story is true but hard to imagine today. A mother selecting her daughter's future husband in France and inviting the daughter to meet him before the wedding. It took the threat of a duel to get this straightened out.
CHESTER
TIMES
November 21, 1906
WON BRIDE FROM NOBLEMAN AND THEN FACED A DUEL
After a honeymoon of three months,
spent in traveling through Europe, in which challenges and duels played an
important part. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A.
Gibbons of Wallingford, returned to this county yesterday and will reach their
new home at Forty-First Street and Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, this
afternoon.
Mrs. Gibbons, who is the daughter of Mr.
And Mrs. William M. Brown formerly of Wallingford, but now residing in Geneva,
Switzerland, eloped with M. Gibbons, her school day sweetheart, the day she was
to start for Paris, where her mother had made arrangements for her to marry a
French nobleman, Count Max Bloch. Determined to outwit her parents, and avoid
marrying the Count, Miss Brown went to Philadelphia, met her present husband,
and, journeying to St. James ‘Church, 38th and Chestnut Streets, they became
man and wife, while the rest of the Brown family waited at Broad Street
station, unaware of the ceremony. The
news of the marriage was not broken to the parents until the party, which had
been augmented by Mr. Gibbons, was far out to sea.
THE STORY OF LOVE – Mrs. Gibbons, who
made her debut in the early part of 1901, went to Europe immediately after and
spent two years traveling. While in
Paris Mrs. Brown promised her daughter’s hand to the French nobleman and set
the wedding day for early last September.
The French love affair developed
through an accident to the nobleman as he was leaving the Brown residence in
Paris one evening. Slipping on the step
he broke his leg and was carried back into the house. For six weeks he was nursed by the Brown
family, particularly Miss Brown, and each day his love grew stronger. Upon recovering from the accident he asked
Mrs. Brown for her daughter’s hand and all arrangements were made without the
knowledge of Miss Brown, who was not anxious to gain a title.
Returning to this country the
attentions of Mr. Gibbons proved more fascinating than the courtesies of the
Count and many afternoons spent on the tennis courts at Wallingford, where Mr.
Gibbons had been spurred on to victory time and again by the fair spectator,
added the climax to the school day love affair.
Fearing her own plans might be interrupted, Mrs. Brown decided to leave
America immediately, and start for Paris.
She became hysterical on the steamship
upon learning of the interruption in her plans as she had cabled the Count, who
was sojourning in Brazil at the time, to start for Paris immediately. The father of the bride was overjoyed,
however, when he learned of the hasty marriage of his daughter and complimented
his son-in-law on his courage.
Worse things were to follow,
however. Upon learning of the
interruption in his matrimonial affairs the Count immediately challenged Mr.
Gibbons to a duel, but lost his courage upon the challenge being accepted. Gibbons, having his choice of weapons as the
challenged party, chose revolvers at forty paces, being himself an expert
shot. The Count is dishonor and disgrace
vanished from Paris the day before the duel was to be fought.
HAD CABIN TO THEMSELVES – On November
10, Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons sailed from Paris on the French liner, LaSavole, being
the only first cabin passengers on the liner.
They had the whole first cabin and promenade deck to themselves, and the
captain’s dinner was given for their exclusive benefit. Although they were the only passengers, the
formality that distinguishes the various functions on the French liner was not
in the least abated. “It was just like a
private yacht,” declared Mrs. Gibbons upon arriving in New York yesterday.
In Paris they purchased a jaunting car
and hitched to it Mrs. Gibbons’ favorite horse, a full-blooded mare from
Arabia. The jaunting car is a commodious
vehicle, with plenty of room for baggage, and this, together with twenty-three
trunks, fourteen dogs, sixteen birds and Mrs. Gibbons’ enormous wardrobe of
fifty-seven suits of Parisian out they brought on LaSavole.
Mr.
Gibbons is a son of George W. Gibbons, the prominent Democratic leader of
Philadelphia, and a brother of Wallington Gibbons, who holds the championship
for tennis in Delaware County. He is a
prominent member of the Delaware County Club and has been a leader in the Main
Line social circles for the past few years.
DCHPN Monthly E-Newsletter |
|
|
Happy Women's History Month! Happy St. Patrick's Day and International Women's Day as well! Read the announcements below for important information |
|
|
*Celebrate Women's History Month: Author Louisa May Alcott Mar 12, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Marple Public Library, 2599 Sproul Rd, Broomall, PA 19008 Learn of her struggles and successes, her eccentric father and hard-working mother, and about the sisters who inspired Louisa’s most famous work Little Women. Portrayed by Pat Jordan. Advance registration requested. | | |
|
|
*Genealogy Workshop Mar 13 & 27, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Middletown Free Library, 464 S Old Middletown Rd, Media, PA 19063 Come learn about Genealogy or get help with your current research! Feel free to bring your own laptop/tablet, but we do have a few to borrow. | | |
|
|
*BUILD Philly Mayoral Forum Mar 14, 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM Kimmel Cultural Campus, 300 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 Join BUILD Philly for an in-depth conversation about Philadelphia's built environment with the mayoral candidates. BUILD Philly is a new coalition of professional organizations and nonprofits addressing issues in the City of Philadelphia related to the built environment. RSVP required | | |
|
|
Ed Bacon and Oskar Stonorov- Building Philadelphia Spring Speaker Series Mar 14, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Zoom- registration required Ed Bacon and Oskar Stonorov – Two Masters Who Found Their Inspiration in Chester County – presented by James Garrison, architect and author. $10/15 single event, $90/110 full series | | |
|
|
*Lenapehoking: Archaeology, Heritage, and the Power of Place Mar 15, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Widener Auditorium, Penn Museum, 3260 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA This panel discussion highlights tribal relationships to Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of Lenni-Lenape and Delaware peoples of the Delaware Valley. Archaeologists and tribal cultural specialists will bring the site-specific landscape and histories to life. Reg. required. | | |
|
|
*Talking Trades with The Campaign for Historic Trades Mar 17, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Online- registration required The Campaign's Talking Trades series will give historic trades trainers, educators, and supporters a regular networking opportunity to learn from our colleagues and hear about programs from across the country. Limit 10 people | | |
|
|
Revolutionary Speaker Series- Bradley Smith Mar 18, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM Brandywine Battlefield Park, 1491 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA 19317 Join Bradley Smith, Archivist and Assistant Director of the Berks History Center in Reading, Pennsylvania, for a discussion of Bodo Otto's extraordinary service, and learn about the curious array of Dr. Otto's surgical tools and personal effects which survive to this day. $20 | | |
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment