Marriage of Eliza Ennis and Alonzo Benjamin Yates

[Erato]

I am looking for the marriage of Elizabeth [Eliza] Ennis and Alonzo Benjamin Yates and especially for any newspaper confirmation of an interesting anecdote related in the 'History of Columbia County, Wisconsin' which is at least sort of plausible except for the date.

http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/por/columbia/images/00000019.pdf

"Another early marriage [in the town of Wyocena] was that of Benjamin Yates and Eliza Ennis in 1848.  Miss Ennis, some time previous, had run away from home, and was working for Willis W. Haskin.  One day, on looking out the window, she discovered her father coming toward the house with the evident intention of taking her home.  Seizing some of her things, she started out of the back door, where she encountered Mr. Yates, and told him the trouble she was in.  Mr. Yates proposed they should be married at once, the proposition was accepted, and together the couple started for a minister, and in less than thirty minutes the two were made one."

Eliza couldn't have eloped in 1848 as a nine year-old and, indeed, she was recorded in the 1850 census with her family, aged 11.  Her marriage to A.B. Yates actually occurred in about 1856/7 when she was ~18 years old; their first child was born in 1857.

W. W. Haskin did live in Wyocena in 1850 and 1860. He appears to have run a boarding house there.  It is conceivable that Eliza might have sought employment in such an establishment and Wyocena was only 15 miles south of the Ennis farm in Marquette County.  It is also plausible that A.B. Yates was living in a boarding house since he was not a local but had come to Wisconsin from New York.  But, if there is any truth to the anecdote, it must have occurred several years after 1848.

[J.J.]

Sadly the age of consent in 1880 Wisconsin was 10 years old...So it may have been lower, or indeed nonexistent 30 years prior...However this is a recycled history, likely by word of mouth, as it doesn't mention where this was recorded.

[Erato]

It may be recycled history, as you say, but the principals [Eliza Ennis, her husband, Alonzo Yates, and her father, John Ennis] were all alive and well in 1880 when the 'History of Columbia County' was published.  Not only that, they all lived just few miles north in Marquette County and had been there for more than 30 years. Portage, the county seat of Columbia County, was the nearest 'big' town where they often did their shopping. They were well known in Portage, and the comings and goings of the large Ennis and Yates families were frequently reported in the Portage newspaper.

[J.J.]

It is interesting nonetheless, is it not, as it may well be the true story...perhaps they even told it themselves, and the writer got the dates wrong...

I wonder if Wyocena court records might still be available? http://www.marqcohistorical.org/

[Lisa in California]

I've not yet looked for a marriage (I'm not very lucky finding such things), but perhaps if you've not already thought of the following...?
[I cannot open your link; I'm sure it has something to with my computer]

*  Are there other articles in the link that you could check to see if they are accurate?  If there are other articles and they are accurate, perhaps "your" article is somewhat accurate as well (minus the date of the event).  If there are other "stories", perhaps your tale was made up for some unknown reason.

*  Is it possible to find an old photograph of the building in which Mr. Haskin lived, to see if could have been possible for Eliza to have seen her father walking toward the building?  If the building was in an isolated spot - where she could see for some distance, she could have had time to round up some items.  If the building was on a busy/crowded street, would she have had time to spot him, gather some things and then head toward the back door?     (Obviously, the photograph would have been taken years after she could have lived there; perhaps there might be a drawing of the building and surrounding land?)

*   After a quick search, I've not found Alonzo in 1850.  Have you found this census yet and if so, was he living in Wisconsin at the time?

*  Perhaps the story came about to explain a possible quick marriage (c1856/57)?  Or, perhaps it was embellished to create a memorable event?  Or, perhaps it was true, just with an incorrect date affixed to the tale.

[Erato]

I suspect that there is some grain of truth to the story and that the source was W.W. Haskin or some other member of his household who came up with it when the compilers of the county 'history' went around asking for significant or amusing incidents in the early days of the county.  Haskin was still around in 1880.  It isn't likely that Eliza or Alonzo would have gotten the date of their marriage wrong and they didn't live in Columbia County in 1880 so they probably wouldn't have been interviewed anyway.

Where Alonzo was in 1850 is a mystery but Eliza was at home with her family in Buffalo, Marquette County, aged 11 and not "married within the year."  It is possible that they did skip town to get away from Eliza's father when they later married.  In 1860, they were in Iowa with two kids.  Alonzo was recorded as a 'physician' but in later years he was always called a farmer.  The third child was born in Minnesota in 1862 but they were back in Wisconsin in time for Alonzo to sign up as a seargent with the 43rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in 1864. They then stayed in Wisconsin for the rest of their lives.

[Lisa in California]

Note:  I was just getting ready to post the following when I received notification of a posting on this thread.  I very quickly read what you posted - I'll post this now, and will then reread your comments.  (I hope that makes sense.)   

I was able to open a different link and can read one page of the book.  There appears to be quite a number of facts that were included in the book!

Several years ago, I found a book about the Wakefields.  In it was a section about my ancestors.  If I am remembering correctly, within the section were facts that only my direct ancestors should have known (and given to the author).  While the majority of the information was correctly compiled, there were two or three absolutely incorrect statements and a couple of other minor incorrect details.  So, while this book was put together to record various Wakefields, it did contain errors.

Unfortunately, we don't have many family stories that were handed down, but with the few that were, sense of time has proven to be the most incorrect.  The majority of our tales were true, they just didn't happen in the correct time frames.  My most amusing tale:  we were told that an ancestor left France, settled in England just long enough to change the surname then immediately settled in Canada.  After researching this line, I discovered they were in England at least 120 years, and possibly as much as 200 years.

I most likely won't be able to find anything helpful for you, but it certainly is worth a try as I think the story is at least partially true.

[Lisa in California]

I suspect that there is some grain of truth to the story and that the source was W.W. Haskin or some other member of his household who came up with it when the compilers of the county 'history' went around asking for significant or amusing incidents in the early days of the county.  Haskin was still around in 1880.  It isn't likely that Eliza or Alonzo would have gotten the date of their marriage wrong and they didn't live in Columbia County in 1880 so they probably wouldn't have been interviewed anyway.

Again, I can only read one page of the book.  If you are able to read the entire book, does it state at the beginning from where the facts were obtained?  Again referencing the Wakefield book, I believe it was mentioned in the beginning of the book that Wakefield families were asked to send information to the "compiler" about their families.  I believe the families were spread throughout America and Canada.  There is always the chance that authors of the Columbia County book consulted people who no longer lived in the county.      Maybe?

I will continue to look for Alonzo in 1850.

[Lisa in California]

Me again.  I was just rereading the page and:
"...marriage...Eliza Ennis, in 1848. Miss Ennis, some time previous, had run away from home..."

Eliza would have been quite young to have run away "some time previous" to 1848.  Perhaps a first attempt at running away was in 1848?  Maybe no one knew when the event occurred and just came up with 1848?  I think the story may be true; we just need more proof.