With Valentine’s Day coming up, couples are making special plans and celebrating. Many local residents are also sharing tales of their ancestors’ romantic adventures.
Sometimes stories are part of recent memory, such as how Rita Bryan’s parents met.
“My mom was with girlfriends at a drug store in Waxahachie, Texas when a handsome sandy-haired man walked in to play a pinball machine. She fell in love immediately and told her friends, ‘That is the man I am going to marry!’ One girl said, ‘That’s my brother!’ They were introduced and the romance began,” Bryan said.
Things hit a snag when the girl found out her guy was studying to be a mortician.
“Although he almost had his license, Mom insisted she would never marry anyone in that business, so he left the job. They soon eloped and were married by a pastor in Dallas,” Bryan said. “They had a 38-year marriage and died only a few months apart.”
Jacob Mathew Andrade of Dallas is learning about his maternal 3rd Great Grandfather, Captain Jack Ross Everett, who moved to Texas from Alabama in 1839, at age 17. By 1847 he had been a captain for the Republic of Texas and a Texas Ranger.
One day while patrolling the Rio Grande, Jack came upon a Spanish man who had been beaten and robbed. Jack helped the old man, who took him to his hacienda, where his granddaughter lived as well. The 25-year-old Jack fell in love with 15-year-old Antonia Flores. She was descended from Spaniards who left Europe to colonize Mexico. Jack soon married Antonia and they moved to Starr County, Texas, just across the border.
Jack’s many adventures, including his romance, fascinate Andrade.
“Everything about Captain Jack is the stuff of books and movies,” Andrade said. “He came from a family of adventurers and he accomplished so much at a young age. Knowing my history makes me feel I can do anything.”
Sometimes love continues after death, as with Saint Begga, born in 615 to Pepin of Landen, of the Palace of Austrasia. She married Ansegisel, son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz, and his wife, Saint Doda. When Ansegisel was killed (some say murdered), Begga founded seven churches and spent the rest of her life in a convent, never to love another man again. Today she is a Catholic saint. Begga was John Spivey’s 40th Great Grandmother.
“She was brokenhearted, so she took the veil,” Spivey said. “It’s not real uplifting, but it is kind of romantic.”
And sometimes romance has a rocky start, as in the strange story of Omar Ramos’ ancestor, William the Conqueror, born William II of Normandy. He was also known as William the Bastard because of his illegitimate birth.
Legend says he sent a representative to ask for Matilda of Flanders’ hand in marriage. Matilda was the daughter of Baldwin V. Count of Flanders and granddaughter of Robert II of France. Matilda said she was from too high a standing to marry a bastard.
Upon hearing the news, William rode from Normandy to Bruges (Belgium today) and found Matilda on her way to church. He grabbed her long braids, threw her off her horse and rode off. When Matilda’s father threatened to draw his sword in retaliation, Matilda changed her mind and agreed to marry William. They were married 30 years, until her death in 1083.
“You could say he knocked her off her feet,” Ramos said.
Whether it is love at first sight or love that needs a little push, it does make the world go ‘round, especially on Valentine’s Day.
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