Post-Wedding Plans

With a lovely wedding and reception behind them in New Lexington, Ohio, newlyweds Frank and Norma Stevens head up north to Frank’s lifelong home town, Chicago, where undoubtedly the two of them spend a few days with Frank's now-widowed mother, Agnes Tully Stevens, and arrange to meet with the many more relatives who were unable to make the long trip to central Ohio. As you will soon see, this "hello" visit will also turn into a "goodbye" as the couple prepare to embark on a two-year-long (at the very least) adventure, far from the confines of what either of them once knew as home sweet home.

The Times Recorder continues its report:

 

            When the couple left for a wedding trip to Chicago, the bride was wearing a forest green frock with black accessories and the orchid from her bouquet.

            Since her graduation from New Lexington high school, the bride has been employed in the office of Dr. R. J. Bennett. Sgt. Stevens, who is with the U. S. Airforce will be stationed in England and Europe for the next two years. Mrs. Stevens will accompany him to England where they will make their home for the present time.

            Out of town wedding guests were from Chicago, Detroit, and various parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio.

As Norma is one of New Lexington’s hometown gals, the Times Recorder of course includes mention of her past links to the area. In addition to the requisite nod to her high school alma mater, there is one interesting observation I need to include with today’s post: that of her recent employer.

The former Norma Flowers worked as an assistant in the dental offices of Robert J. Bennett. Knowing what you now know about Perry County, it will come as no surprise to you to hear that Norma and the good doc are related. They are actually third cousins. Indeed, they are also second cousins once removed.

Go figure: it has to do with the large Snider/Snyder family, longtime residents of Perry County, Ohio. Here’s how it lines up:

On Norma’s father’s side, his mother was Anna Maria Snider, whose cousin was Sarah Rebecca Snider, Robert Bennett’s maternal grandmother. Add those two generations forward to that first-cousin standing, and you get third cousins. Easy.

Sarah Rebecca Snider had a sister, Emily Catherine, who married a Gordon. Their daughter Bertha Gordon was Robert Bennett’s mother’s cousin. Bertha Gordon eventually married Joseph Metzger, and their daughter Bertha—a name that should start to sound familiar—became Robert’s second cousin. Add Norma to the mix and voilà! You have a second cousin, once removed.

I haven’t lost you yet, have I? Good—there’s more.

Because Dr. Robert’s surname is Bennett, I couldn’t help but take a peek at my database to see what the relationship might be to good ol’ Ned, the guy who got this whole thing started. And you know what? Austin McGonagle’s young wife, Ellen Bennett, who died shortly after Ned's mother was born, was one of Robert Bennett’s aunts. Thus, Ned and Robert are first cousins, once removed.

Large family circle.

Small world.

And one nineteen-year-old child of that legacy is about to step out of that small world and into the post-war world of military life in the midst of the now-crumbled British Empire.