More on “Gretna Greens”

Courthouse in Crown Point, IndianaIn the February 12 article on Love and Marriage we discussed the possibility that a couple may have eloped to a nearby “Gretna Green”–a place where it was easier to get married. Yesterday, Arlene Eakle posted on this same subject on her blog. It lists some twenty or so Gretna Greens and requests that if you know of one not on her list, that you let her know by dropping her a line. I you’re still searching for a marriage record for one of your ancestors, check out her list.

2 thoughts on “More on “Gretna Greens”

  1. My grandfather when he was mayor in the early 1900’s performed marriges for those in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, living in Sidney, Iowa.
    One story is that he was a avid baseball player as well as a farmer. He performed one marriage in his local baseball uniform, but that is the least. He was in the barn milking his cows, when a couple showed up. He performed the nuptials in the barnyard with milk pail in hand, still in his baseball uniform.

  2. A cousin to my wife told of her grandparents getting married in Cumberland, MD in 1921. She says that quite a few couples drove the 60 miles south from Ligonier and Somerset, Pennsylvania get married. Some drove even farther, to Winchester, VA – 130 miles!

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