An Elopement to Tacoma
Defying her parents, a young woman boards the Zephyr to marry her suitor in Tacoma.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Our town was a little surprised last evening to learn of an elopement and marriage for which few citizens were prepared. It seems that Mr. V. H. Brown, the Portland piano tuner, has long been smitten with the charms of Miss Minnie Sparling, and by his attentions and devotion had succeeded in carrying the citadel of her heart. Not so, however, with the young lady's parents; her father failing to give his consent to their marriage, while the mother positively refused. This has been going on for a year or more, Mr. Brown remaining faithful and making repeated efforts to gain the desired consent. Failing in this, though, he proposed an elopement to Miss Minnie, who, after a proper display of reluctance, consented. He was here a couple of days ago, when the final plans were made. Miss Sparling, with the consent of her mother, stayed Thursday night at the house of a young lady friend. Instead of returning home yesterday as expected, she went to Tacoma on the Zephyr, and there, as soon as the license and a minister could be procured, she was married to Mr. Brown, intending to go with him today to Portland. The family here suspected nothing until late in the afternoon, when an idea of the truth dawned upon them, only to be confirmed an hour or two later by passengers on the boat from Tacoma.
“Though their course will not be wholly approved in the higher social circles, still we trust and believe Mr. and Mrs. V. H. Brown will never have cause to regret their matrimonial venture.”
Elopements were a staple of 19th-century social columns, often highlighting the friction between parental control and individual autonomy. Today, the 'Zephyr' route from Seattle to Tacoma is a well-traveled corridor, though the drama of such an escape has moved from the newspaper society column to the digital world.
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