Marriage License: James Coursey and Mary Murphy

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Marriage License of
James W. Coursey and Mary (Murphy) Moulton
9 September 1857
Stephenson County, Illinois

James' family came to north-western Illinois around 1841. His mother and sisters are found living in Jo Daviess County (west of Stephenson) in the 1850 census. James left Illinois for the 1849 California gold rush, remaining there until 1857. Shortly after he returned from California he married a young widow named Mary Ann (Murphy) Moulton. She had probably only been married a short time, and had no children by her first husband. Mary was most likely the daughter of Michael and Mary (McNeil) Murphy, who had come to Stephenson County from Canada around 1840. James and Mary were both born in Canada, James probably in Nova Scotia, Mary in St. Thomas, Ontario. Not long after their marriage James and Mary, along with his mother Hannah and sister Elizabeth, moved to Johnson County, Kansas, settling for good on a farm outside Leavenworth a few years later.

James and Mary had seven children, all born in Kansas: Edwin E. (married Mary McCormick of PA), Mary R. (married Charles Barrett of IL), James W. II (married 1st Kate DeSanno of Leavenworth County, 2d Anna Thompson, also of Leavenworth), Emma J. (died at the age of 30, did not marry), Thomas H. "Harry" (married Elizabeth Ryan of Leavenworth), Ann E. (died at the age of 3) and Charles F. (did not marry).
Related Items
Picture of James from ca 1875.
Pictures of their son Edwin E. and his family and daughter Mary R. (DeCoursey) Barrett.
Census record table for James and his family.
1885 Kansas Agricultural Census entry.
Listings in Leavenworth, KS city directories.
Biography from 1899, mentions in biographies of his grandson James H. from 1918 and 1952.
James' obituary.
Obituary for James and Mary's son Harry.
More information on their descendants in The DeCoursey Family

m3-351

MARRIAGE LICENSE.

State of Illinois,
Stephenson County. THE PEOPLE OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS
To any person legally authorised
to Solemnize Marriages,
GREETING:

You are Hereby Authorized To join in the Holy Bands of Matrimony, and to Celebrate the Rites and Ceremonies of Marriage, between Mr. James Coursey and Mrs Mary Moulton ¹ of Stephenson County, and this shall be your good and sufficient warrant, and you are required to return this License to me within thirty days from the Celebration of such Marriage, with a Certificate of the same appended thereto, and signed by you, under the Penalty of One Hundred Dollars.
(seal) In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and the Seal of said Country, this Ninth day of
September A. D., 185 7
DH Sunderland ² County Clerk.
per C. F. Wag[ner?] Dep
Stephenson
Ninth Sept. County, Illinois, 185 7 I, Micheal McLaughlin a R. C. priest hereby certify that on this day I joined in Marriage Mr. James Coursey with Misfes Widow Moulton agreeably to the authority given in the above License.
Micheal McLaughlin ³
R. C. P.

James Coursey to Mary Moulton
September 9 - 1857

¹ This was Mary Murphy's second marriage, as she is listed as Mary Moulton. Further down in the certificate part of this licence she is called "Mrs Widow Moulton", so apparently her first husband died. No record of Mary's first marriage has been found. There was a Moulton family living near the Murphys during this time period. It is possible her first husband was Michael Moulton, he died in September 1856 and is buried in the same cemetery in Stephenson County as members of Mary's and James' families.
² David H Sunderland was county clerk of Stephenson County from special election June 1855 and again in 1857 and 1861.
³ According to a short history of his service as a pastor Rev. Micheal McLaughlin served at Saint Mary Church in Irish Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois from about mid-1856 to 1859. Irish Grove is located in Rock Run Township, on the east side of the county. I cannot, however, find any record of a St. Mary's at Irish Grove, the Catholic church there was called St. Patrick's. There was a St. Mary's in New Dublin in Kent Township (also known as St. Mary of the Mound), it is in this cemetery that members of the Murphy and Coursey families are buried.