Nearly Married
The Waterloo Times - Feb 12, 1915

Nearly Married

William J. Osprung and Miss Seville L. Brown, both of East St. Louis, came down Monday 
to get married.  One of the marrying justices spied them on the corner, sized them up as a 
prospective fee, and upon inquiry learned he had guessed correctly first pop.  He led 
them to the marriage license office where the groom said he was 21 and the bride gave 
her age as 18.  County Clerk Eisenbart then inquired of the bride when she was 18, and 
she replied “I will be 18 on the first of March.”
	
The license was refused, but the clerk promised to issue some if the girl would get the 
consent of her mother.  After considerable telephoning the mother was located, but 
would not consent to signing any papers, hence the wedding had to be postponed for 
several weeks.
	
Both parties were considerably chagrinned at being refused the license, the bride-to-be a 
pretty little blond even more so than her prospective husband.  She stamped her little trilbys 
on the floor and was real angry at the outrage and went away in a huff, vowing they would 
patronize some other county clerk who sells his licenses instead of keeping them.  Whether 
they succeeded or not we have been unable to learn this far.