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| W.H. and Ursula (Wilson) Putcamp and family. |
As you might expect, I had to find out if the 1889 marriage of Miss Ursula Wilson and Mr. William Henry Putcamp actually had been made in heaven after coming across the following news item in The Chariton Democrat of June 13, 1889:
"A very interesting little romance is connected with the courtship and marriage of Mr. Putcamp and Miss Wilson, account of which appears in this issue. Mr. Putcamp came here May 31, and stopped with Landlord Burns at the Burns House. Next day he drove out to Belinda and for the first time in his life met the charming lady who was to be his wife. The happy event had all been arranged by correspondence, each being amply recommended to the other by mutual friends. It is well. Marriage is a good deal of a lottery anyhow. In this case it is believed that each drew a capital prize."
Miss Wilson, known all her life as "Sula," was one of the 12 surviving children of Elder Joshua Wilson, a pioneering Pleasant Township preacher and farmer, and his wife, Francis. Mr. Putcamp was the son of Kansas farmers who had just launched a career in railroading that would serve him well during the decades that followed.
Here's the account of their marriage, published elsewhere on the local news page of The Democrat on June 13:
"Married at the residence of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Wilson, near Belinda, Iowa, on Wednesday, June 5th, 1889, Mr. W.H. Putcamp and Miss Sula Wilson, Rev. K.D. Wolf officiating.
"The groom is a highly respected young gentleman of Reno, Nebraska.
"The bride is one of Lucas county's most excellent young ladies, born and reared in this community and by her very commendable acts of the past has made quite a wide circle of friends whose best wishes are future happiness and prosperity.
"The happy couple left Saturday for Wilder, Kansas, where they will spend a few days visiting Mr. Putcamps parents, when they will return to Reno, their future home."
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The newlyweds lived in several cities in Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Illinois as the years passed and he rose in railroading ranks to road master. They had five children, the youngest of whom died young in 1902 when they were living in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
By 1930, the couple had retired to a farm in Contra Costa County, California. W.H. died at Antioch, Contra Costa County, during 1943 at the age of 80 after 54 years of marriage. Ursula died during 1954, age 93. They are buried in Union Cemetery, Brentwood.
It would appear that this marriage celebrated during 1889 in Lucas County, Iowa, had worked out reasonably well.
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| Find a Grave photo. |
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