OTDIH - Novemeber 26th

November 26th, 1911 -  My Great-Grandparents, Elijha Claude Bruce and Nettie Belle Howerton were married.

He applied for and was granted a license to marry on November 25th by County Judge, W.B.M. Mitchell, and Deputy Clerk of the County Court, J. L. Jordan. He claims his age to be 21 and hers to be 18. Both residing in Maysville, Oklahoma. 

The following day they were married by Justice of the Peace, J. F. Fisher in Maysville. Garvin, Oklahoma, USA. Witnesses to the marriage were Mr. H. F. Fisher and Mr. Henry Taylor. 

The Certificate of Marriage was filed on 18th December 1911 by J.L. Jordan.

You may notice a couple of details are off on these images. For one Nettie's surname appears to be Howard and not Howerton. I have seen Howerton spelt in many different ways. It could be how great-grandpa pronounced it when he gave the information. And subsequently how the clerk heard the name. 

Both of them are a bit older then they actually were. Elijha Claude was born in March of 1893 and would only be 18 at the time of their marriage. And Nettie was born in April of 1894 and would be a few months short of her 18th birthday. I believe, but have not been able to confirm, that Oklahoma marriage laws required that the groom be at least 21 years of age and the bride at least 18 years of age for them to wed without parental consent. 

Here are a few reasons why I am confident that this is the correct marriage record for them:

1. Great-Grandma always said she was married around Thanksgiving, which in the USA in 1911 was on November 30th. 
2. Nettie and her family were in Wayne, McClain County, Oklahoma in 1910. Wayne is less then 10 miles(as the crow flies) North-East of Maysville. 
3. Their oldest son was born in Maysville a little over a year later.
4. There are no other records for an E.C. Bruce or Nettie Howard of the right age.

Here is a photo of them a few decades later.