Martin Gahagen and Wife

 

Gahagen

Arelia

His Wife

Born

Nov. 11, 1843

Died

May 15, 1905

Martin

Gahagen

Born

Apr. 4, 1823

Died

July  10, 1914

Buried Green's Chapel Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 9 March 2017.

The tombstone above gives no hint to the circumstances surrounding the courtship and marriage of Arelia (Sabin) and Martin Gahagen. They became acquainted through correspondence and never met until Arelia arrived in Evansville, Indiana from her home in Michigan. They met in Evansville,  married on 21 February 1900 and returned to Martin's home in Weston, Kentucky. [1] Unfortunately, Arelia only lived five years after her marriage.

This was not the first marriage for Martin Gahagen. On 4 March 1868 he had married Miss Margaret T. Cain in Crittenden County[2]. They were married a number of years before their marriage ended in divorce. Then came the marriage to Arelia Sabin. On 20 February 1906, Martin married Mrs. M.B. Ford[3], who survived him.

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[1] "Met By Correspondence," Evansville Courier, Thursday, 22 February 1900; reprinted in Crittenden Press.

[2] Brenda Joyce Jerome, Crittenden County, Kentucky Marriage Records, Vol. II 1866-1886, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1991) 16.

[3] Crittenden County Genealogy, Inc., Crittenden County, Kentucky Marriages 1900-1910, (n.p., 2016) 91.

Originally published 21 Dec 2017 and repeated 11 Dec 2024.