Elizabeth O'Brien

MS248 reel 18, Vol. 84, pp. 375-376
York County Marriage Register, 1858-1862

Extracted from a list of marriages solemnized by Julius Straus, a minister of the Canada Presbyterian Church, for the year ending 31 December, 1861.

Sidney Stokes, 25, born Canada, residing E. Gwillimbury. Parents George and Henrietta Stokes.
Elizabeth O'Brien, 22, born Canada, residing E. Gwillimbury. Parents Nathaniel and Orilla O'Brien.
Witness Stephen Jefferson of East Gwillimbury.
On July 13, 1861.

The County Marriage Registers do not typically show the name of the place where the marriage was held. Rev. Straus, according to the record, was resident at Markham, but this does not mean that he might not have attended at other locations, probably by horseback. Of mild interest from the standpoint of Sidney Stokes, Sidney was witness on the same day as his own marriage for Stephen Jefferson. Jefferson's marriage is listed immediately prior to that of Sidney's. He, Jefferson, married Mary Purdy of East Gwillimbury. Then for the Stokes-O'Brien marriage, Stephen Jefferson acted as witness. Was this intended by the contracting parties? Did they simply attend the clergyman at the same time and place and did the clergyman then co-opt them each as a witness for the other's marriage?

Haven't a clue.