Country Wedding Festivities

(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society and Tom Rainford.

This photograph was taken on Robert Rossow's wedding day. What we know about that day comes from the "Local Drifts" column of the Hobart Gazette of Dec. 5, 1902:

Last Saturday, Nov. 29th, Miss Bertha Berndt was united in marriage to Robert Rossow, Rev. E. Schuelke officiating. The ceremony was performed at four o'clock at the home of Theodore Rossow, brother of the groom. In the evening the groom gave a free dance at the K. of P. hall which was largely attended by the numerous friends of the happy couple.

By four o'clock on November 29th, the sun would have been far down in the sky, so the pictured festivities must have preceded the wedding ceremony. I image the women were inside the house, making ready, and the men went outdoors to goof around. Only one person in this photo is identified: William Rossow (another brother of Robert), who stands at left against the wall, wearing a white shirt and a big mustache.

As for the location of Theodore Rossow's farm, I can't confirm it, since I can't find Theodore in the 1900 census. He did eventually own a farm in Union Township, Porter County, but that ownership is not reflected in the 1906 plat map. Here it is on the 1921 plat map:


(Click on image to enlarge)
From http://www.inportercounty.org/Data/Maps/UnionTownshipMaps.html.

The 1910 Census suggests that Theodore and his wife, Annie, already owned at least a part of that land (based on the enumerator's margin note placing them near the "North Township Line Road," and the other residents recorded on the same page). Oddly enough, the Hobart News, in May 1921, described their residence as "southwest" of Hobart, but that have been a misprint for "southeast" ("Local and Personal," 5 May 1921).

Robert and Bertha Rossow are even more elusive. The 1930 Census records them farming rented land in northern Ross Township, west of Ainsworth. In April 1921 the Hobart News placed them somewhere southeast of Hobart ("Local and Personal," 7 Apr. 1921). I cannot find them in any other census, or on any plat map.