Double Wedding of Two Brothers and Two Sisters
On October 11, 1876, Ida Farr married Hial Nelson, and Sarah Farr married John Nelson in a double ceremony at Oren Farr’s farm on Brickyard Road in Goshen, NH. The following poem was written for and read at the wedding anniversary of the Nelson brothers.
October comes with memory bright,
A story glad to tell,
To mingle with her falling leaves
Sound sweet as wedding bells.
She robes herself in colors bright
Green, red, and even gold
And smilingly unfolds the tale
Which never has grown old.
‘Twas in October, seventy-six,
The double wedding came;
Two sisters under arches green
Gave up their maiden name.
No clouds are in their happy eyes
As blushingly they stand,
And on the brothers at their side
Each maid bestows her hand;
Each groom looks down to claim his own,
Each thinks his own most bright,
And none may chide, for Nature’s laws
Have made this just and right.
Each bridegroom owns that he for months
Has sought her from a Farr
And claims her now to be his own,
His own bright shining star.
The solemn vows are spoken
That binds these two as one,
The mirthful greetings given,
Each groom his prize has won.
October days go quickly by,
The wedding bells are still
And now with peace and sweet content
Each wife her home doth fill.
The years roll on, their treasures bring
To one a boy and girl,
The mother’s joy, the father’s pride
They’d change not with an earl!
The other home contains four boys,
No mother’s sons more dear;
While father’s smile of tenderness
Shows love that casts out fear.
Each morning brings the blessings new
From the Father’s loving hand.
Tonight we forge the silver band,
The bands so dear to you;
They tell of years so swiftly fled,
Of love so strong and true.
The darker spots in life’s brief walk
Almost forgotten lie,
But brighter days in memory live —
We cannot put them by.
And when the frosts of winter
Turn the dark locks to gray,
May your loved ones gather round you
On your golden wedding day,
When the double band of silver
Will be changed to bands of gold;
And the tale of the double wedding
With joy will again be told.
And then as the twilight gathers
And the shadows dim the light,
May the Father draw the curtain
And bid you each good night
And with the glorious sunrise
Of Heaven’s eternal day
May you find a crown awaiting
And lay the cross away.
Nettie L. Taylor