A Female Clergyman Performs a Marriage
A rare historical wedding ceremony in Puyallup is conducted by a woman, the Rev. Mrs. Jones.
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.
At Puyallup, last Sunday, at the close of her morning sermon, the Rev. Mrs. Jones invited all to attend the evening service, remarking that they would then see that which they had never seen before—which turned out to be a marriage ceremony performed by a woman. It is believed that there is not another case of the kind on record. The Rev. Mrs. Jones has a widowed daughter, whose name is also Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones, Sr., married Mrs. Jones, Jr., to Mr. Freed, the gallant miniature man of Puyallup. The happy pair have the respect and best wishes of the whole community. They have the gratitude, too, of the people for thus successfully ending the endless ambiguity of the Mrs. Joneses.
“They would then see that which they had never seen before—which turned out to be a marriage ceremony performed by a woman.”
In 1883, gender roles regarding the clergy were strictly enforced; the local press frames this historic event as a singular curiosity. Today, while female ordination is common in many denominations, this story captures an early, quiet disruption of gender norms in the Washington Territory.
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