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From: <>
Subject: [RHEA-L] The Kentucky Wedding
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 09:40:03 EDT

TIP# 158 - THE KENTUCKY WEDDING AND HOME

In the past, I have published articles on the Kentucky Woman, the Kentucky
Man and the Kentucky Child. I have been asked to do an article on the
Kentucky Home.

I am looking now back into the early settlement days of the counties. To
have a home, there had to be a wedding. The early inhabitants of Kentucky
and other states generally married young. There was no definite distinction
between rank and fortune. The expression of "love at first sight" might
well describe our great-great grandparents and back. Normally it appeared
that the first impression of love would result in a marriage and then began
the establishment of the family. It cost little more than a little labor
and not much else.

A Kentucky wedding in earlier times was quite an event. It excited the
attention of entire communities in which it occurred. On the morning of the
wedding day, the groom and his attendants met at the house of his father
for the purpose of proceeding to the "mansion" of the bride. Noon was the
most common time for the ceremonies to begin - the wedding just HAD to
"come off" before dinner. The era of the church wedding was a long time in
the future.

Our forefathers and mothers did not have the luxury of bridal registries,
wedding consultants, bridal shops or beauty shops. They just dressed in
their best "duds", with the groom often found outfitted in leather
breeches, leggings, linsey hunting shirts and moccasins. The bride to be
wore linsey petticoats, linsey or linen gowns, coarse shoes, stockings,
handerchiefs and buckskins or hattern.

The march began at the house of the groom on way to the bride's house. If
they lived any distance apart, this march might be interrupted by narrow
roads, fallen trees which had to be moved out of the way, grape vines
blocking the progress of the horses. Many times, in celebration of the
upcoming event, the male party would discharge their guns, announcing their
arrival. All of a sudden, the party would emerge from the woods with great
shouts and yells and the girls would start shrieking and running about
excitedly. Sometimes a few bruises, falls from horses or other minor
accidents would occur during this chivalrie, but the injured were just
bandaged up with materials on hand and the ceremony barely delayed.

Sometimes, except in the homes of the devout church-goers, another ceremony
took place before the party reached the home of the bride - this coming
about after the introduction of whiskey. When the men were within a mile or
so of the bride's house, two young men would be singled out to "run for the
bottle." This was announced by a piercing Indian yell. The bottle was
always filled for the occasion, and the first who reached the door of the
bride was presented the bottle with the contents distributed among the
company present.

The ceremony of the marriage preceded dinner. This was a total feast,
prepared by love from the available food by the bride's mother. It
consisted of beef, pork, fowl and sometimes venison or bear meat roasted or
boiled with potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables. After relaxing for a
while after a full meal, the dancing began and this usually lasted through
the night into the next morning. Dancing would never occur at the homes of
the Baptist and several other churches which frowned upon the dance and was
reason for dismissal from the church. Those that did dance did the four
handed reels, square sets and jigs.

About nine or ten o'clock, a group of young ladies stole off the bride and
a group of young men stole the groom. They were taken to their room
upstairs for the night, with food being brought to them if it was
remembered! Downstairs the dancing continued. If there was a shortage of
chairs, a young man was obliged to provide a seat on his lap for one of the
girls.

Now that we have a happy couple, the next step was getting them a place to
live on their own if this was economically feasible. This was called the
"settling." A spot was selected on a piece of land of one of the parents. A
day was "appointed" shortly after the marriage for commencing the work of
building the cabin.

A group of men called the "fatigue party" was made up of tree choppers
whose only business it was to fell the trees and cut them off at the right
lengths. A man with a team came by to haul them to the place selected for
the cabin and arranging them property assorted at the sides and ends of the
building. Next came a carpenter, if one could really call him that, who had
to search the woods for a suitable tree for making clapboards for the roof.
The trees had to be straight grained and from 3-4 feet through. This board
was split four feet long with a large froe and as wide as the timber would
allow. They were used without planing or shaving.

Another group of men were employed in getting puncheons for the floor of
the cabin (if a floor was planned - many had just dirt floors); this being
done by splitting logs about 18 inches in diameter and hewn with a broad
axe. They were half the length of the floor. While the materials were being
gathered, the friends and neighbors gathered together to start the process
of raising the cabin. The roof and sometimes the floor was finished on the
first day. A third day was normally needed by the carpenters to level off
the floor and make a clapboard door and table. The table was made of a
split slab and supported by four round legs set in auger holes; some
3-legged stools were also made for the bride's new home. Pins stuck in the
logs at the back of the house supported clap boards for cupboard ware or
anything else.

The cabin being finished, the house-warming began before the young couple
were allowed to move in. There was another dance which continued many times
all night and all the friends, neighbors and workers were in attendance.
The next morning, the likely weary couple moved in their very first home.

It might be noted that an expression came into existence during this time
called "Lawrence." Lawrence designated an individual who found an excuse
not to assist in house raisings, log rollings or harvest parties.

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