Cleaning, Wedding, Waiting

Today I decided to clean off a table and tackled a pile of family history papers. In this stack was an unlabeled wedding photo.

No photographer’s mark, no names, no date. The only clue is that the photo was in a pile Lydick family papers. Was the bride one of my grandmother’s (Mae Lydick) 6 sisters?

When in doubt, ask your dad

My dad immediately identified the bride as his grandmother’s youngest half-sister, Elizabeth Gamache. Dad, ever the storyteller, said that she and “Jay” LaValle, the piano tuner, were engaged for an extended period.

Always Fact Check

Next, I began fact-checking.

Elizabeth Gamache and James P. LaValle married on October 14, 1944 (exactly 82 years ago today) in Hennepin County, Minnesota.¹Hennepin County, Minnesota Marriage Record #04880165. My family history database gave a birth year of 1903 for Elizabeth; she was 41 when she married. Indeed, she was an older-than-average bride.

What about James? His WWI Draft registration provided several clues.²“Minnesota, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8182-9KZ?view=explore : Oct 14, 2026), image 405 of 6212; United States. National Archives and Records Administration,United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Atlanta Branch. Image Group Number: 005253058

He was born June 14, 1892. James’ mother was financially dependent on his work as a self-employed piano tuner. [My goodness, my dad remembers a lot!]

Waiting, a theory

August 21, 1944 James’ mother dies³Minnesota Death Record #1944-MN-021281: Marie A. LaValle, August 21, 1944. and the couple marries 7 1/2 weeks later.

Coincidence? I think that the couple needed to wait until his mother was out of the proverbial picture.

Conclusions

Life is busy, but I/we really should write more family stories.

My dad remembers a LOT of stuff.

Each pile of papers contains a story.

The details of family stories can provide serendipitous joy, if we look for it

SOURCES

• 1
  Hennepin County, Minnesota Marriage Record #04880165. ↩︎
• 2
  “Minnesota, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-8182-9KZ?view=explore : Oct 14, 2026), image 405 of 6212; United States. National Archives and Records Administration,United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Atlanta Branch. Image Group Number: 005253058 ↩︎
• 3
  Minnesota Death Record #1944-MN-021281: Marie A. LaValle, August 21, 1944. ↩︎