Calamity makes the heart grow fonder. Want proof? Take a look at SFgenealogy.com’s San Francisco 1906 Earthquake Marriage Project. In the month following the catastrophic earthquake and fire, the Alameda County Clerk’s office set records for issuing marriage licenses. According to Ancestry’s databases, the Oakland Tribune for 7 May 1906 explained that Miss Helen McGregor Murison and Harry Francis Davis substituted “an early and very simple ceremony” for “an elaborate summer wedding” because of the “unsettled state of affairs” following the quake.
Meanwhile, the Portland Oregonian reported that crackers took the place of wedding cake for Robert F. Benham and Mary Louise Hale, who wore her only dress to survive the fire acted as a wedding ensemble. Other couples came together as a result of the disaster. According to the San Francisco Bulletin, a “Mr. Billingslee had saved $1.20 and figured that it would cost $1.00 for a room for himself alone or the same amount for both, so concluded to get married.” Even the New York Times made note of an order for 160 wedding rings of all sizes to meet the urgent need out west. 
San Francisco isn’t a stand-alone case. Marriage rates in industrial nations shot up in the years immediately following World War II. A 1982 fertility survey suggests 20th-century marriages peaked in China following the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949. This trend was seen again in China in 1962 and 1963 after the catastrophic “Great Leap Forward” and its subsequent turmoil. Even New York City saw marriage rates for 2001 rise, up almost 25 percent over what they were in 2000 and more than 10 percent above what they would be for 2002. It’s a little early still to see how many silver linings will follow in Sandy’s wake. But it is a natural thing for folks to come together in bad times. And best of luck to any who decide to stay that way. Discover your family story. Start free trial.