A notable wedding anniversary was held in the afternoon and evening of April 25, at the home of H. P. Irish, Farina, Ill., when Oliver B. and Sarah Irish celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. About ninety-five invited guests, old and young, met to join with the aged couple in the celebration of their wedding anniversary. Three of this number were considerably past eighty, and there were others past seventy years of age. ... Mrs. Mattie A. Burdick, of Centralia, a niece of Mr. Irish, read a poem which she had written for the occasion, and one by Mrs. William L. Clarke, of Ashaway, R. I. ... Not the least interesting and important incident of the afternoon was the presentation of the sum of $118.50, most of which, at the time of presentation, was in gold, made up of gifts of many friends East and West. Fifty dollars in gold, neatly packed in a very pretty box, was received from sisters of Mrs. Irish.
Oliver B. Irish and Miss Sarah Anthony were united in marriage by Rev. Isaac Langworthy, on the 25th of April, 1854, in the town of Chelsea, Mass. Later they came to Farina as part of a colony of Sabbath-keepers that settled here, where they resided until 1886, when they went to help form the colony at Hammond, La. Three or four years ago they returned to Farina, to live with their son, J. H. Irish.
C. A. B.
