The Wedding of Henry Hamman and Susan Bentz

Today is the 121st Anniversary of the marriage of my maternal Great-Grandparents Susie Bentz and Henry Hamman. 

The following is an image (click on item to enlarge) from the

Iowa Department of Public Health; Des Moines, Iowa; Series Title: Iowa Marriage Records, 1880-1922

Return of Marriages in the County of Plymouth For the Year Ending January 1st, A. D. 1898

Date of License   3. Groom-Henry Hamman    6. Groom’s age next birthday –25    10.  Groom’s place of birth- Dubuque
   Sep 29/97         4. Residence-Remsen         7. Color-White                                   11.  Groom’s father- Jacob H.-
                            5. Occupation-Farmer          9. Groom’s 1st marriage                   12.  Groom’s mother- Cath. H.-
                           13. Bride- Susie Benz          14. Bride’s age next birthday-20        20. Bride’s place of birth- Worthington, IA
                                                                        15. Color-White                                  21. Bride’s father- John Benz
                                                                        16. Bride’s 1st marriage                     22. Bride’s mother- Maria B.-
23.  Where and When Married – Remsen Oct. 11, 1897
24.  Witnesses- Jacob Benz & Lena Braun
25.  By Whom Married, Name and Office- Rev. F. Schulte
Date of return – Oct. 19, 1897

This is the newspaper report of their wedding as found in The Remsen Weekly Bell on 14 October 1897 in the column Local Items:

• The original wood structure for St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was erected in 1884.  German, Luxembourg and Alsace immigrants made up the congregation.  The building was destroyed in June 1885 when tornadoes moved through Plymouth and Cherokee counties.  The second structure was completed late that same year when Father Frank Schulte arrived.  This second structure would be the structure Henry and Susie were married in by Father Schulte.

Some thoughts:

• My great grandfather’s last name ‘Hamman’ was misspelled as ‘Hamong’ which is why I was unable to find this account when I was searching under Henry’s name but found it when I was searching under Susie’s name.
• #24 above on the Iowa State marriage record shows one of the witnesses to be Jacob Bentz, Susie’s brother.  Last week when I wrote about Susie’s life I wondered how the couple met?  A fellow Iowa researcher on Facebook found a news item in a local newspaper from 2 years prior to the wedding that showed Henry and Jacob knew each other.  I am now not surprised that he was a Witness for the couple.  I wonder if Lena was a friend of Susie’s?
• Both Susie and Henry’s families were part of the St. Mary’s family.  Susie’s parent had immigrated from Germany and Henry’s from Luxembourg.

If you have any corrections, additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby