On July 24, 1937, my grandparents Orville W. Garrison & Naomi E. Carman were married in Elkton, Maryland. My grandmother told me this, but unfortunately I did not know enough about Elkton to ask for more of the story. It turns out that Elkton was known as the place Philadelphians went to when they eloped or otherwise wanted a quick marriage. Unlike neighboring states, Maryland did not have a waiting period for marriage at the time.

The Boundary Stones blog has a brief overview of Elkton as the place for quickie marriages. According to that article “couples didn’t have to wait to use their marriage license in Maryland, but they did have to have a church service as part of the ceremony,” which might explain why my (as far as I know) irreligious grandparents were married by a Baptist minister. (My grandfather’s family were mostly Methodists. My grandmother’s were a mish-mash of various Protestant denominations, none of which were Baptist, and Catholics.)

I do know that my grandparents had waited to get married because they had both been out of work due to the Depression. So, perhaps after they got jobs, they just couldn’t wait? I do know it was not a “shotgun wedding,” as my mother was born a little less than a year later. It was also not due to the rashness of youth as described in the blog article above. My grandmother was 32 and my grandfather was 29, both had worked since adolescence and my grandfather had already been out west and returned, so they were not young people “first experiencing freedom.” I will probably never know why my grandparents ran off to Elkton to get married instead of waiting 48 hours to get married in Philadelphia, but it’s interesting to know they were a part of east coast history.

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Sources:

Maryland. Cecil County. Marriage Certificates. Clerk of the Circuit Court, Elkton. Orville W. Garrison & Naomi E. Carman, 1937.

“Elkton, Maryland: The Quickie Wedding Capital of the East Coast,” by Krystle Kline. Boundary Stones: WETA’s Local History Blog, https://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/.

Hillcrest Memorial Park
Hurffville, New Jersey

Photograph by Find-A-Grave user James Mason Fritz

GARRISON

Orville W.
1907 – 1968
[Freemason symbol between years]

Naomi E.
1905 – 1999
[Order of Eastern Star symbol between years]

Original Source Citation:
Find A Grave, Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 9 November 2013), Orville W. Garrison, Memorial # 16195964.

Bride & groom with their parents.

Naomi Evelyn Carman (22 July 1905 – 3 November 1999)

Born:

22 July 1905 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States¹

Married:

24 July 1937 in Elkton, Cecil, Maryland, United States to Orville Wilson Garrison⁸

Died:

3 November 1999 in Bradenton, Manatee, Florida, United States⁶

Parents:

Joseph Elon Carman (6 Apr 1872 – 3 Nov 1956)¹
Anna May Funston (30 Jan 1876 – 21 Mar 1928)¹

Spouse:

Orville Wilson Garrison (20 Sep 1907 – 22 Jun 1968)

Children:

Carol Lucille Garrison

Ancestors
Naomi is a descendant of Charles R. Carman & Caroline A. Brill, Wendel Gottlieb Hornef & Maria Louis, and Joseph Funston & Frances.

Biography
Naomi Evelyn Carman was born on 22 Jul 1905 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.¹ She lived at 2762 Martha Street in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 15 Apr 1910.² She lived at 3859 Coral Street in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 1 Jan 1920.³ On 1 Jan 1920 Naomi was a Knitter at Hosiery Mill in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.³ She lived at 3072 Joyce Street in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on 1 Apr 1930.⁴ On 1 Apr 1930 she was a Topper at Hosiery Mill in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.⁴ Naomi lived at 37 Arbustus in Pitman, Gloucester, New Jersey, United States on 1 Apr 1940.⁵ She later worked at a book bindery.⁹ She died on 3 Nov 1999 at the age of 94 in Bradenton, Manatee, Florida, United States.⁶ She was buried on 9 Nov 1999 at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Hurffville, Gloucester, New Jersey, United States.^6,7

Last updated: 02 July 2014

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Citations

1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, birth certificate no. 2510 (1905), Naomi Carman; Bureau of Health – Division of Vital Statistics, Philadelphia.
2. 1910 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Ward 25 Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 551, sheet 13A-B, dwelling 251, family 244, Joseph Elon Carman; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1727033 : accessed 17 November 2013).
3. 1920 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, 45 Ward, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 1706, sheet 4B, dwelling 82, family 84, Joseph Carman; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1488411 : accessed 17 November 2013).
4. 1930 U.S. Census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Ward 25, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 51-898, sheet 24B, line 52, dwelling 403, family 435, Naomi Carman lodger; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1810731 : accessed 17 November 2013).
5. 1940 U.S. Census, Gloucester County, New Jersey, population schedule, Pitman, enumeration district (ED) 8-42, sheet 7B, line 55, household 17, Mary Garrison; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2000219 : accessed 7 June 2013).
6. Death Certificate.
7. Find A Grave, Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 9 November 2013), Naomi E. Garrison, memorial # 16195993.
8. Cecil County, Maryland, marriage certificate (1937), Orville W. Garrison & Naomi E. Carman; Clerk of the Circuit Court, Elkton.
9. Personal knowledge.

Naomi Carman Birth Certificate 1905
Transcribed by Alexander Conrad from original certificate

B. No. 2510
Philadelphia
Department of Public Health and Charities
Bureau of Health – Division of Vital Statistics
Full Name of Child: Naomi Carman
Color: W
Sex: F
Date of Birth: 7-22-1905
Place of Birth: 1330 Eyre St.
Father’s Name: Joseph
Mother’s Name: Anna
Father’s Occupation: Bricklayer
Father’s Birthplace: Phila.
Mother’s Birthplace: Phila.
Mother’s Name Before Marriage: Anna Funston
Residence of Parents: 1330 Eyre St.
Ward of Residence: 18
Name and Address of Person Making Report:
Signature, A.E. Smethurst
Residence, 2249 N 13th St.

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Notes:
I found this among my grandmother’s possessions after she passed away.
This certificate has the date 9/23/19 handwritten in the corner and was stamped “Issued, Bureau of Compulsory Education, 1522 Cherry St., Phila.” My grandmother was working at a hosiery mill by January 1920, according to the census. My guess is that this certificate was obtained so that she could leave school and go to work.

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Original source citation:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, birth certificate no. 2510 (1905), Naomi Carman; Bureau of Health – Division of Vital Statistics, Philadelphia.