Today D is for Long Distance - Marriage!
Blogging about British Columbia Genealogy Resources
In British Columbia, we have very good free access online (and off) to historical marriage registrations currently to 1943 (and currently those for births to 1903 and deaths to 1998). Indexes and in most cases, digital copies of the registrations are available to download free on the BC Archives Genealogy (Royal BC Museum) web area. Thank you to the BC Archives and our BC Vital Statistics Agency for facilitating this.
Some registrations are available at FamilySearch.The BC Archives, many larger libraries like Cloverdale Library in Surrey, BC and some other archives and organizations have microfilm copies of the older registrations as well. (If events are indexed but the registration is not available, contact the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency via forms on the Department's website.) Another year of registrations for marriages and deaths should be released soon, but that will be after summer now, I would think.
News Flash! Just right now, "Cloverdale Library's Family History department's email reference service has been expanded. This will be available until April 22 only. And it is FREE!
What does this mean?
Family History department staff members will be able to pop into the branch and do specific look-ups for you, using ANY of our resources – all of our databases, microfilms and print collection (see below for links), and send you an email report and a scan (if item is found) of your results. For free.
What are the parameters?
Limit of one question per person per day.
Questions need to be specific."
I stress this - be very specific, give pertinent details. An example: “My grandparents were divorced in BC around 1947. Can you check your BC Divorce Orders Index microfilm to get a reference so I can order the document? Their names were Jonathan Grady and Martha nee Sunderland.”
Here is a list of Cloverdale Library's resources - https://www.surreylibraries.ca/services/family-history
Here is the Library catalogue: https://www.surreylibraries.ca/
And the Microfilm catalogue: https://www.surreylibraries.ca/sites/default/files/CanadianFamilyHistoryResources.pdf
End of News Flash! Back to the blog...
When people cannot find a registration for a marriage in British Columbia, I often suggest they check Washington State, or depending on where the families lived in BC, even Alaska or Alberta. But this one did surprise me a little.
"Vancouver Airwoman Weds U. S. Soldier by Telephone", published Thursday, 4th July, 1946, page 1, Vancouver Sun.
"A pretty Vancouver girl, Valencia Dawn Bohmer, became a "long distance" bride Wednesday [3rd July, 1946], when, over the telephone from her home here to Abilene, Texas, 2000 miles away, she was married to former U. S. Navy man, Johnny Hackney. "
The story says they met during the war while Valencia Bohmer was a Royal Canadian Air Force telegraph operator. She had worked before the war for the Bank of Commerce in Trail and is listed in The Canadian Bank of Commerce War Service Records 1939-1945 book as a Leading Airwoman; she enlisted in 1944 and after training, served in Vancouver and Patricia Bay, BC. (The Victoria, BC airport is now where the Patricia Bay RCAF air base was in WWII.) 1
Royal Canadian Air Force, Women's Division poster, 1941. Ted Harris - McGill University Library, Rare Books and Special Collections, Canadian War Poster Collection, Reference no. WP2.R28.F5. Public Domain. Copy from the Wikimedia Commons. Listen to the CBC's Archives radio piece 'RCAF is no longer just a man's air force'.
According to the article, BC Telephone Company officials thought this was "probably the first in Vancouver's history, required but 50 seconds". The groom had called on Tuesday, but missed the bride. They "exchanged telegrams" and she called him Wednesday noon, but missed him. They connected Wednesday night, the groom was in Justice of the Peace W. A. Ward's office in Texas, and they exchanged their vows. The new Mrs. Hackney was "awaiting receipt of her passport".
I do not expect there was a marriage registration here in BC in this case. It should be in Texas. If you have any long ago royals in your tree, you may have heard of proxy weddings which could be what this was officially. Texas still allows proxy weddings although there are certain restrictions. The Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Malenchenko, and Ekaterina Dmitriev were married by proxy in 2003 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas while both the groom and his best man were in space. They did appear via video linkup.
I checked for a marriage record in Texas and indeed there is one, although I only have the index information from Ancestry.com (so far). 2
There is a border crossing record too under her new surname and giving her husband's information in Texas - two cards showing her examined on the 5th and crossing on the 6 August, 1946 at Blaine, Washington, USA.
What I didn't expect to find was another marriage record in Washington State, but they were married again at the Seattle Courthouse by Evangeline Starr, Justice of the Peace, on the 6th August, 1946.3 Perhaps they were just 'making sure'? The moral here is to keep on looking. You may find more details, or something quite unexpected.
This story was covered in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan newspapers. And in Texas and Washington State. The Spokane Daily Chronicle's heading was "No-Kiss Wedding Wins A Passport", with a United Press report from Abilene, Texas which mentions the hasty wedding was necessary to prevent a six week delay in getting a passport for the bride. It also mentions that she was a nurse during the war. I do not believe this is correct. (Spokane Daily Chronicle, Washington State, 4 July 1946, page 1. Online at Google Newspapers:https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19460704&printsec=frontpage&hl=en )
I do hope they lived happily together. I expect I will sneak a peak once the 1950 US census is released in April 2022.
We have seen news of some 'distancing' weddings lately. I wonder if there will be any long distance weddings like this? Seems it would be much easier nowadays. And likely cheaper - no telegrams, just texts!
Women's uniforms on display at the British Columbia Aviation Museum, by the Victoria Airport, Vancouver Island, BC. Photograph by Tjflex2, 2012. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Here's a link to an article showing the 'advances' in RCAF Women's Division uniforms,“WW2 Air Force Uniforms for Canadian Women”-Guest Blog Post by Elinor Florence at The Vintage Inn.
References:
1. There is a very poor online copy of this book, The Canadian Bank of Commerce War Service Records 1939-1945, An Account of the War Service of Members of the Staff During the Second World War, published by the bank (Toronto, 1947) on archived pages at: http://lib.militaryarchive.co.uk/library/wwii/library/the-canadian-bank-of-commerce-war-service-records-1939-1945/html/files/assets/basic-html/toc.html Her entry is on page 288. Vancouver Public Library and other libraries do have copies.
2. As - Valenica D Bohmer, Marriage Date: 5 Jul 1946, Marriage Place: Taylor, Texas, USA. Spouse: John A Hackney.
Taylor County Clerk's Office; Abilene, Texas; Taylor County Marriage Records; Volumes: 22; Pages: 346. Ancestry.com. Texas, Select County Marriage Records, 1837-2015 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
3. Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013; Reference Number: kingcoarchmcvol157_135
In British Columbia, we have very good free access online (and off) to historical marriage registrations currently to 1943 (and currently those for births to 1903 and deaths to 1998). Indexes and in most cases, digital copies of the registrations are available to download free on the BC Archives Genealogy (Royal BC Museum) web area. Thank you to the BC Archives and our BC Vital Statistics Agency for facilitating this.
Some registrations are available at FamilySearch.The BC Archives, many larger libraries like Cloverdale Library in Surrey, BC and some other archives and organizations have microfilm copies of the older registrations as well. (If events are indexed but the registration is not available, contact the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency via forms on the Department's website.) Another year of registrations for marriages and deaths should be released soon, but that will be after summer now, I would think.
What does this mean?
Family History department staff members will be able to pop into the branch and do specific look-ups for you, using ANY of our resources – all of our databases, microfilms and print collection (see below for links), and send you an email report and a scan (if item is found) of your results. For free.
What are the parameters?
Limit of one question per person per day.
Questions need to be specific."
I stress this - be very specific, give pertinent details. An example: “My grandparents were divorced in BC around 1947. Can you check your BC Divorce Orders Index microfilm to get a reference so I can order the document? Their names were Jonathan Grady and Martha nee Sunderland.”
Here is a list of Cloverdale Library's resources - https://www.surreylibraries.ca/services/family-history
Here is the Library catalogue: https://www.surreylibraries.ca/
And the Microfilm catalogue: https://www.surreylibraries.ca/sites/default/files/CanadianFamilyHistoryResources.pdf
End of News Flash! Back to the blog...
"Vancouver Airwoman Weds U. S. Soldier by Telephone", published Thursday, 4th July, 1946, page 1, Vancouver Sun.
"A pretty Vancouver girl, Valencia Dawn Bohmer, became a "long distance" bride Wednesday [3rd July, 1946], when, over the telephone from her home here to Abilene, Texas, 2000 miles away, she was married to former U. S. Navy man, Johnny Hackney. "
The story says they met during the war while Valencia Bohmer was a Royal Canadian Air Force telegraph operator. She had worked before the war for the Bank of Commerce in Trail and is listed in The Canadian Bank of Commerce War Service Records 1939-1945 book as a Leading Airwoman; she enlisted in 1944 and after training, served in Vancouver and Patricia Bay, BC. (The Victoria, BC airport is now where the Patricia Bay RCAF air base was in WWII.) 1
Royal Canadian Air Force, Women's Division poster, 1941. Ted Harris - McGill University Library, Rare Books and Special Collections, Canadian War Poster Collection, Reference no. WP2.R28.F5. Public Domain. Copy from the Wikimedia Commons. Listen to the CBC's Archives radio piece 'RCAF is no longer just a man's air force'.
There is a border crossing record too under her new surname and giving her husband's information in Texas - two cards showing her examined on the 5th and crossing on the 6 August, 1946 at Blaine, Washington, USA.
What I didn't expect to find was another marriage record in Washington State, but they were married again at the Seattle Courthouse by Evangeline Starr, Justice of the Peace, on the 6th August, 1946.3 Perhaps they were just 'making sure'? The moral here is to keep on looking. You may find more details, or something quite unexpected.
What I didn't expect to find was another marriage record in Washington State, but they were married again at the Seattle Courthouse by Evangeline Starr, Justice of the Peace, on the 6th August, 1946.3 Perhaps they were just 'making sure'? The moral here is to keep on looking. You may find more details, or something quite unexpected.
This story was covered in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan newspapers. And in Texas and Washington State. The Spokane Daily Chronicle's heading was "No-Kiss Wedding Wins A Passport", with a United Press report from Abilene, Texas which mentions the hasty wedding was necessary to prevent a six week delay in getting a passport for the bride. It also mentions that she was a nurse during the war. I do not believe this is correct. (Spokane Daily Chronicle, Washington State, 4 July 1946, page 1. Online at Google Newspapers:https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19460704&printsec=frontpage&hl=en )
I do hope they lived happily together. I expect I will sneak a peak once the 1950 US census is released in April 2022.
We have seen news of some 'distancing' weddings lately. I wonder if there will be any long distance weddings like this? Seems it would be much easier nowadays. And likely cheaper - no telegrams, just texts!
Women's uniforms on display at the British Columbia Aviation Museum, by the Victoria Airport, Vancouver Island, BC. Photograph by Tjflex2, 2012. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Here's a link to an article showing the 'advances' in RCAF Women's Division uniforms,“WW2 Air Force Uniforms for Canadian Women”-Guest Blog Post by Elinor Florence at The Vintage Inn.
References:
1. There is a very poor online copy of this book, The Canadian Bank of Commerce War Service Records 1939-1945, An Account of the War Service of Members of the Staff During the Second World War, published by the bank (Toronto, 1947) on archived pages at: http://lib.militaryarchive.co.uk/library/wwii/library/the-canadian-bank-of-commerce-war-service-records-1939-1945/html/files/assets/basic-html/toc.html Her entry is on page 288. Vancouver Public Library and other libraries do have copies.
2. As - Valenica D Bohmer, Marriage Date: 5 Jul 1946, Marriage Place: Taylor, Texas, USA. Spouse: John A Hackney.
Taylor County Clerk's Office; Abilene, Texas; Taylor County Marriage Records; Volumes: 22; Pages: 346. Ancestry.com. Texas, Select County Marriage Records, 1837-2015 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
3. Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013; Reference Number: kingcoarchmcvol157_135
3. Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013; Reference Number: kingcoarchmcvol157_135
2 comments:
What a great story -- and so timely during this social distancing period we are in. Your blog also speaks to how people creatively used technology as soon as it appeared -- the telephone back then, Zoom and other conference options now. I wonder if folks will hit "record" to capture their online weddings today?
I never considered there could be a long distance wedding like this. I’m intrigued. I did find an uncle and his sweetie who both lived in BC and they got married in Washington state. You are correct Diane, look beyond the boarders. I’m enjoying this blog!
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