WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Valentine's Day, 1872

A very sweet Valentine's Day "Decree" from my Greatgrandfather, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, 14 Feb 1872 to his teen-aged sweetheart, my eventually-to-be Greatgrandmother, Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES.  They were both about 15 yrs old at the time... although the handwriting seems more mature than that...  What do you think?

Found in the TERWILLIGER SOUVENIR ALBUM, about
half-way through this very
large album of many pages...
and will eventually be inventoried
on my other blog when I get to this page later this year.

It is a bit difficult to read; transcription follows:


The People of the State of New York.

To:  Miss Gussie Graves
                      Syracuse
Greeting:

We Command You, that (all and singular business and excuses laid aside) you be and appear in your own proper person before the Court of Love, appointed to be held where the Woodbine twineth, in the said place, on the 14th day of February 1872 at moonlight in the evening of the same day, to testify all and singular what you may know in a certain action now pending undetermined in said Court, then and there to be tried  between
 ...........  A Ffection ...............plaintiff
and ..........your  Heart...........defendant
on  the  part  of  the  Plaintiff.       And this you are not
to omit under a penalty upon you of two hundred and fifty kisses.

Witness,   Saint Valentine, Judge of our said Court,
at the Court of Love,  the 14th day of February  in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 72.
...............................C Upid  Clerk
...............  ....H ymen  Attorney

----------------- ------------------ --------------

The couple married on the 2nd October 1879 from her parents' home.  Grove has glued in three different newspaper reports of their wedding - with (of course) NO identifying information about each newspaper.  I'll research that at another time.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.   Tell someone you love them, and promise them two hundred and fifty kisses.