Wilcox County travelers got married aboard antebellum steamboat in 1856

E.D. Pitts grave in Weimar, Texas.

I really enjoy looking at old newspapers because I often run across old newspaper items that both surprise me and also offer up a little mystery.

The other day, I was reading some old editions of The South-Western, a weekly newspaper that was published in Shreveport, La. between 1852 and 1870. Back in those days, Shreveport, which sits in the northwest corner of Louisiana, near Arkansas and Texas, was an important cotton-shipping center. Travelers from all over the world passed through this important southern city, including travelers from Wilcox County.

According to the Dec. 3, 1856 edition of The South-Western, under the headline “Marriage,” readers learned that “yesterday morning, on board steamer Belle Sulphur, by the Rev. E.D. Pitts, Mr. Jno. R. Sadler to Miss Caroline Pearce. The happy groom and his bride are from Wilcox County, Alabama, en route for Upshur County, Texas.”

I thought this was an interesting bit of news for a number of reasons, primarily because it involved two Wilcox County travelers who got married aboard an antebellum steamboat. According to historical records, the Belle Sulphur was a wooden, side-wheeled steamboat that was named after the Sulphur River. This important river is about 175 miles long and runs through northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas.

The Belle Sulphur was built in Louisville, Ky. in 1856, so she was almost brand new when the Wilcox County couple got married later that year. The Belle Sulphur belonged to Capt. R. C. Hutchinson and operated mostly between Shreveport and New Orleans.

I believe the Rev. E.D. Pitts was the uniquely-named Epaminondas Dunn Pitts, who was born in Jones County, Ga. on June 17, 1826. This would have made him about 30 years old when he performed the wedding ceremony for Jno. R. Sadler and Miss Caroline Pearce. Pitts, who was a prominent Freemason, would live to the ripe old age of 70 before passing away in Oakland, Texas on March 12, 1897. Today you can find his grave in the Weimar Masonic Cemetery in Weimar, Texas.

The abbreviation “Jno.” was 19^th century shorthand for the name “John.” With that said, who was John R. Sadler and Caroline Pearce? Did they live out the rest of their lives in Texas, eventually return to Wilcox County or end up somewhere else? The historical record is unclear, but some researchers say that John was killed in the Civil War in 1864. If that’s true, it’s possible that Caroline remarried and died under a different name.

Upshur County, Texas is located in the northeast corner of the Lone Star State, and one is left to wonder why John and Caroline were headed there in the first place. Were they alone or were they traveling with family? Were they headed to join family who had already moved to Texas? What was John’s line of work? Did that have something to do with his move to Texas?

One is also left to wonder why they decided to get married on a steamboat. Even today this would be somewhat unusual, since now, as then, most conventional weddings take place inside a church. Again, were they alone or were there family members or friends on hand to witness the ceremony? Did they know the Rev. Pitts beforehand or was his performance of the wedding ceremony impromptu?

In the end, it would be interesting to know what became of the Sadlers. More than likely, some of their family or direct descendants are still around today. If anyone in the reading audience has any information that would shed more light on this young couple, please let me hear from you. Perhaps the rest of their lives was as unique as the details surrounding their wedding.