Emay/Leisure Marriage

I’ve started going through my various files, documents, and photos on the Leisure family line. One document was the marriage certificate of William Sydney Emay and Mary Frances (aka Fanny) Leisure. This document has interested me before but I hadn’t taken the time to do any research on it. J. B. Blount officiated the marriage on 12 Sep 1878 was. The question in my mind has been whether there was any other relationship with Rev. Blount.

Jacob B. Blount was one of the early ministers of the Church of Christ at Little Blue River, now known as Hannegan Christian Church. The church was organized in 1830 and the first building erected in 1869 on land obtained for the congregation by George W. Leisure and Benjamin Kendall.[1]

Rev. Jacob B. Blount (born in Tipton, Indiana) was the father of Raymond L. who was born in Posey township, Rush county on 29 Mar 1880. Raymond married Serena Rhodes was the daughter of Lewis R. and Elizabeth Leisure. (Aha! a Leisure).[2] Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph P. Leisure and Dorinda T. Fresh.

I had most of this information in my genealogy database except I have not looked for the parents of Raymond. So now I know the person who performed the marriage of my great-grandparents was the father-in-law of my 2^nd cousin 3x removed. That seems very distant but it appears closer (to me anyway) to remember that Serena’s mother, Elizabeth, and the bride, “Fanny,” were 1^st cousins.

Just as an aside, William, the groom, holds a special place in my heart. He was an orphan train rider. He arrived by train in Rushville, Indiana in February of 1862 under the auspices of the New York Children’s Aid Society and placed in the home of Mr. J. M. Cook. William thrived and became a well-respected member of the community. More importantly he found warmth and love with “Fanny.” Though he died 50 years before “Fanny”, she never remarried and she kept his (very large) picture hanging in her bedroom until her death.

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[1] Gary, A.L. and E. B. Thomas editors, Centennial History of Rush County, Indiana (Indianapolis, Historical Publishing Company, 1921), volume I, page 422.

[2] Gary, A.L. and E. B. Thomas editors, Centennial History of Rush County, Indiana (Indianapolis, Historical Publishing Company, 1921), volume II, page 245, 246. Biographical information for Raymond L. Blount.