William McClure and Maggie Larimer, Married OTD 150 Years Ago

On October 19, 1876, wedding bells rang in Wabash county, Indiana, for William Madison McClure (1849-1887) and his bride, Margaret Jane Larimer (1859-1913). They were my husband's great-grandparents. Redoing my newspaper research, I found that the weekday wedding was reported in the Goshen Times (Indiana) newspaper with this short item:

Mr. Wm M. McClure, late of Wabash, Ind., and Miss Maggie [Margaret] Larimer, of Millersburg, this county [Elkhart], were married at the latter place on Thursday last, Rev. W. H. Ziegler, of this city, officiating.

William was 26 years old, and Margaret was 17 (married with a parent's consent) when they were wed, as I could see from the official county documentation of this marriage.

The couple had four children from 1877-1882. Sadly, the youngest child was only 5 when William died of typhoid fever at age 37. He was buried barely a week before what would have been his 11th wedding anniversary. Fortunately, he had $3,000 of life insurance to help his family cope with this loss. 

Margaret worked as a dress maker to supplement the family's income as her children grew older. She lived to see all 4 of her children married and established in life. Margaret died at age 54, due to diabetes and "la grippe." She and William are buried in historic Falls Cemetery, Wabash, Indiana, where hubby and I paid our respects when we visited a few years ago. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #14: Lt. Theodore W. McClure

One of hubby's great-grand uncles on his mother's side was Lieut. Theodore W. McClure, a son of Benjamin McClure (aka Uncle Benny) and Sarah Denning. He got his rank of Second Lieutenant while serving with the 11th Indiana Regiment Reserve. His name is the last on this page from the June, 1863 sign-up sheet.

McClure (1835-1927), a farmer, married Louisa Jane Donaldson (1837-1924) in 1858. By the time he listed himself with the 11th Indiana, he was a father. Louisa and Ted had six children in all: Ida (who died in infancy), Charles, Anna (died as a teenager), Albert, Clara, and (of course) Theodore.

Lt. McClure's family is also listed on an informative Find a Grave site, kindly researched and posted by the Friends of Falls Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Wabash, Indiana. Thank you to all the volunteers who preserve the memories of our ancestors in this way!