That was the headline above the Hanover news section of the York Gazette on April 30, 1908.
Why did Civil War veteran George M. Prince write to Hanover, Pennsylvania Postmaster Hostetter asking for names of widows?
It seems that George M. Prince had been a member of the Fifth New York Cavalry, under General Kilpatrick, when they skirmished with Confederate troops at Hanover in 1863. Sometime in the 45 years that had since passed, Prince had moved to Federalsburg, Maryland. After his wife died, he remembered how kind the people of Hanover had been to the Union soldiers and wrote that “...he would be pleased to correspond with a Hanover widow of forty-five or fifty years of age, with a view to matrimony.”
I don’t know if he had any takers. The newspaper said that Hanover had a number of fine widows and "old maids."
Does anyone know if George M. Prince found the Hanover woman of his dreams? Considering that he was probably about 65 years old by then, he had evidently had high hopes of finding a younger wife.
Click here to read about Confederate sword found at Hanover.
Wow, that is amazing. This is my great, great grandfather, whom I am trying to track down information about. This story gives him a human side that the stiffly posed pictures I have of him do not. I would love a copy of the article if you have it.
Louise--it's great to hear from you. I'd like to know more about your great-great grandfather. Did he find a new love from Hanover?
I usually print the articles out from the microfilm copies of the newspapers at York County Heritage Trust, write the blog posts at home, and then take the print out back in to YCHT and file it in a family file or manuscript file so that it is easy for the next researcher to find. I'll look for it.
Please send your email address and/or postal address to me at ycpa89@msn.com. Then I can scan it and email it or send a photocopy through the mail.
Thanks, June