Agnes Murdoch Scott was born in 1894 in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland to James and Mary (Norris) Scott. The real photo postcards (RPPC) shared in this post were found with family photos that belonged to Fern (Waterson) Hardenburg. Agnes and Fern are connected by the marriage of their children, Martha Dale to Walter Hardenburg.
Agnes and John Inglis Dale, son of John and Martha (Inglis) Dale, boarded the ship Columbia in Glasgow, Scotland on November 25, 1922, and began their nine-day voyage to New York. According to the ship’s passenger log, they were bound for Battle Creek, Michigan where Agnes’ older sister Mrs. Mary McGee resided and it’s in her home where the two were married four months later.
I find it curious that Agnes and John didn’t tie the knot before their travels. Were the pair fleeing parents who didn’t approve of their relationship? Or were they eloping to avoid the headaches of planning such a large ceremony? After all, Agnes was one of twelve siblings!
Agnes’ small, home wedding was quite a lovely affair that included roses, Easter lilies, gifts, and a Scottish meal of meat pies, viands, and ice cream. And I’m a wee bit smarter, knowing now that a viand is a “choice and tasty item of food.”
Notice the large photo pendant Martha Dale is wearing in the photo above. I suspect it might be an image of her son John, who as a young man in Scotland worked as a shipwright, a person who builds and repairs boats. Upon relocating to America he worked as a carpenter for various shops before accepting a position as a car inspector for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad from which he retired at the age of 65. John lived to be 77 years old and is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Gleaned from various newspaper mentions, Agnes was a member of the Capital Avenue Bridge Club and must have played a mean hand of cards as she was often the recipient of a prize. She was active in the Parent-Teacher Council (PTA) and later worked for the General Food Corporation during the 1950s. Agnes died in 1985 and was laid to rest beside her husband.
I’ve tagged all posts about this family with the Waterson name so if you’re interested in catching up and viewing all posts about the found photos from his family, please type Waterson in the search box (the small magnifying glass symbol) at the top of this page.
Sources
Census records
Find A Grave
Michigan marriage records
Michigan death records
New York, Passenger and Crew Lists 1820-1957
Battle Creek Enquirer
the rescued photo 
Interesting that Agnes’s wedding dress was made of “brown Canton crepe.” I wondered what that might have looked like. Maybe something like this: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mary-taylor-wearing-long-canton-crepe-v-neck-dress-with-news-photo/592324747
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I also was curious about that and searched but everything I came upon seemed quite plain and not wedding-like or formal like the lovely dress you found a photo of! Thanks for sharing!
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My pleasure! The one I linked to was from ten year later (1933), so the style was probably quite different, but the material may have been the same.
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Aloha,
Hm, my father’s surname is Phelps and they were from the Monroe, Michigan area before moving to Tennessee. Wonder if he’s related to the Rev. Phelps who conducted the ring ceremony.
Mille grazie for the interesting story.
Mahalo.
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Interesting! I suppose the Reverend might be a relative.
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Great post 🙂 I found it interesting that the ice cream was in the shape of Easter Lilies ~ All the pictures were wonderful but I especially loved Agnes’s parents!
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