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The Man Sent By His Parents To Stop His Brother’s Wedding But Married The Bride’s Sister Instead
A double wedding occurred when an attempt to stop a sibling from marrying led to a man meeting the love of his life a century ago
One of the most popular tropes in television and movies is the protestation of a wedding, where the happiest day of a bride and groom is rudely interrupted by dramatic objections. While that rarely happens in real life, not all proposed unions are greeted happily. More than 100 years ago, a Connecticut man was sent across the country to stop the marriage of his brother to a California girl. Not only did he fail in his mission, it became a double ceremony as he ended up falling for and marrying the bride’s sister.
The January 4, 1903 issue of The New York Times carried the unusual story of what must have been very disappointed parents in Mr. and Mrs. Colonel Frank Woodbridge Cheney of South Manchester, Connecticut. The family was of a strong reputation and for years had done business manufacturing silk.
This was at a time when marriages weren’t necessarily about love, as social position had a lot of sway in the equation. Therefore, when the Cheney’s son (they had a total of eight boys — no girls) Seth announced that he…
