Mishaps at weddings are all too common. Stephen Hussey and Martha Bunker's wedding back in the 1670s though was packed with multiple mishaps--unusual ones too, at least to modern readers. And it all started with a French privateer looking for a prize.
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| Boarding of a British East Indiaman by a French corsair |
The wedding took place on 8 October 1676. "Stephen Hussey had sailed to Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod for the wedding, probably in his own ship. He was described by this time as a wealthy man. On his way home with his bride after the wedding his ship encountered a hostile French privateer laying off Nantucket harbor. The bride was terrified at the sight of the French warship and was fearful that her wedding day might be her last." (Hussey Millennium Manuscript, courtesy of the Gowen Research Foundation, www.llano.net/gowen/hussey_millenium.htm, 2001.)
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| Lighthouse, Brant Point in Nantucket harbor Credit: Farnk van Mierlo, Wikipedia |
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| Map showing the location of Cape Cod, Barnstable, and Nantucket |
The next mishap seems a bit tame in comparison to nearly being killed by pirates. "The welcoming party on the shore saw the danger, and while watching the drama on the sea, allowed the wedding cake of Martha Bunker Hussey to burn to a char." (Hussey Millennium Manuscript) But I guess those little things add up.
So, imagine you're on your way to your wedding and pirates show up and try to kill you. You survive but are probably pretty rattled. And now the wedding cake's charcoal. Can anything else go wrong? Well... "In all the excitement a drunken Indian lounging near the punchbowl accidently broke his whiskey bottle on the bowl allowing a shower of glass splinters to fall into the punchbowl, rendering the contents unfit for the welcoming party." (Hussey Millennium Manuscript)
Yep, welcome to the 1600s. And how did the couple take it? We don't have much insight into Stephen's reaction but Martha's is part of the family story. "All of these unnerving incidents were too much for the bride, and she cried that 'the very heavens and stars were against us.'"
But the marriage happened and they ended up having eight children, seven of whom lived to have weddings of their own.
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| A couple of the late 1600s |
To learn more about this couple, see my page at my family's site. I have not yet transferred this information to my Olive and Eliza website but will do so in the future.
Next week's challenge from No Story Too Small: "Week 24 (June 11-17) – Heirloom: What heirloom do you treasure? Who gave it to you? What heirloom do you wish you had?" This will take us to more present times to meet my grandfather.
