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Week 28 Prompt: Reunion

This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is”Reunion.” My initial reaction to this prompt was family reunions. One of my family lines held annual reunions in the past, but I’ve already blogged about it. So, thinking outside the box, I decided to write about my great-grandparents and their two marriages.

For some strange reason, unknown to me, John Ward McMahon and Emma Jane Garrison married twice—once in 1923 and again in 1936. At first I thought maybe it was a vow renewal, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have needed a marriage license to do that. In both instances, they did not marry in the church. The 1923 marriage was performed by Harry W. McEwen (a DeKalb County judge) in Chicago. The 1936 marriage was performed by Frank Christensen, a justice of the peace, in Cicero, just outside Chicago.

So how do I know this is the same couple? I had a marriage certificate for each marriage among my family papers. For the second marriage, Emma is listed as Emma J. G. McMahon, in other words, with her married name, not her maiden name (although the initial G is likely for her maiden name). I also obtained the marriage license for the 1923 marriage and verified their ages. Plus, their two children were born 1927 and 1929, after the first marriage.

Earlier this year, I tried to see about getting a copy of the 1936 marriage license, but I could not find them in an index and therefore not able to obtain it through FamilySearch (way too many films to go through!!). Now, their 1936 marriage is indexed and I can head over to a Family History Center and obtain the original license. I wonder if there will be any clues. Also of note, the index entry had “Emma Jane Garrison McMahon,” further corroborating that this is the same couple.

After I get the 1936 license, I plan to check the Cook County court archives to see if John and Emma divorced, and if so, obtain the case file.

Regardless of the circumstances, the couple was married twice. I consider the second marriage a reunion, and I really want to know what happened to prompt this reunion.