1873 — Marriage certificate for Walter C. Goodrich and Maggie A. Ewing, Fort Dodge

1873 — Marriage certificate for Walter C. Goodrich and Maggie A. Ewing, Fort Dodge

Year: 1873

Decorative single-page marriage certificate recording the union of Walter C. Goodrich and Maggie A. Ewing at Fort Dodge on March 6, 1873. The central printed text reads, “This Certifies That Walter C. Goodrich and Maggie A. Ewing were united by me in Holy Matrimony,” followed by handwritten entries giving the place as Fort Dodge and the date as “the sixth day of March 6th” in the year of Our Lord 1873. The lower portion includes handwritten witness and officiant lines, partly obscured by tears, staining, and adhesive tape; the printed imprint at the bottom reads, “Entered according to Act of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1882.” The certificate is a vertically oriented, color lithographed Victorian marriage form with an ornate black, gold, and red border, floral decoration, and religious wedding imagery. At the top is an open book labeled “Holy Bible,” above a vignette showing a bride and groom standing before a minister in a church-like interior, with attendants nearby. Bells are scattered across the upper field, and the central arch carries the biblical phrase, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The center of the certificate is framed by a large arche