The Marriage of Lucy Pearl Deese

Lucy Pearl Deese, daughter of John Calvin Deese, was the only one of my grandparents that I knew. My other Grandmother and both grandfathers died before I was born in 1942.
Grandma Pearly lived until 1970 giving me many years to enjoy her company and presence in my life. She also had a sister and three half-sisters that lived a long life along with Grandma Pearly.

Grandma Pearly (Lucy Pearl Deese) married my Grandfather James Francis “Jim” Purvis abt 1910. To this union were borne 7 children of which six lived to adulthood, married, and had families of their own. Jim and Pearly’s firstborn, a daughter by the name Levina, passed away as a baby.

For many years I searched for a marriage date for my Grandparents without success. I located a Family Bible of my Great Grandparents but it contains no entry for the marriage of their son to Lucy Pearl Deese.

For many years the closest I could nail down a date of marriage was before 14 March 1908. This date is the date of the Last Will and Testament of  John Calvin Deese, father of Lucy Pearl Deese.

• Item 5, of John Calvin Deese Will, reads: 
• Item V. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Lucy Pearly Purvis, the sum of One Dollar ($1.00).

Lucy was married to Jim Purvis before John Calvin Deese wrote and signed his Last Will and testament on 14 March 1908.

I never gave up on finding a marriage date for my grandparents and that objective was rewarded when I subscribed to Newspapers.com. The 12 March 1908 edition of The Messenger and Intelligencer (Wadesboro, North Carolina); Thu, Page 1, col 6.

Morven News
Miss Pearly Dees and Mr. James Purvis were married Sunday [8 Mar 1908]. Owing to the objections to the match by the parents of the bride, they used the South Carolina Ceremony. [The Messenger and Intelligencer (Wadesboro, North Carolina)12 Mar 1908, Thu, Page 1, col 6.]

I now know they were married on 8 March 1908 in Chesterfield, South Carolina. I had no knowledge that there were objections to the marriage by Lucy's father and step-mother. 

• Owing to the objections to the match by the parents of the bride, they used the South Carolina Ceremony.

 Regardless, the marriage was a lasting one until Lucy lost her husband in February 1936. She never remarried and passed away in 1970.

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[1] Anson County, North Carolina, LDS FHL microfilm #018161: page 423 Will of John Calvin Dees; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
[2] "Miss Pearly Dees & Mr. James Purvis," Marriage, The Messenger and Intelligencer (Wadesboro, North Carolina), 12 March 1908, Page 1, col 6.; Digital On-Line Archives, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/ : viewed & copied 6 May 2020); https://www.newspapers.com/.