Eloped! Oh, the shock of it!

Connersville Examiner, March 20, 1894

WELL, WELL!

A Marriage Quite Romantic

The following dispatch taken from the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, will surprise many of our people:

DAYTON, O, March 19 -- Mr. Harry Feicht, of this city, and Miss Noree Lea Cory of Fairfield, Indiana, were united in marriage at Covington, Kentucky, on the eighth day of January last. This is seemingly a tardy announcement of the marriage of two well-known and popular young people, but until today it was a secret securely locked within the bosoms of the confiding pair.

Mr. Feicht is the manager of the Grand Opera House and Park Theater. (Those were Dayton theaters.) He was born and reared in this city, and has a host of friends and associates little suspect that he quit their ranks over two weeks ago, and will probably remain in blissful ignorance of the matrimonial event until the announcement appears in the papers today.

Miss Cory, or Mrs. Feicht, more properly speaking, is the daughter of Hon. and Mrs. C.R. Cory, well known residents of Fairfield. She is a charming and cultured young woman, and is a favorite among a wide circle of acquaintances in Indiana, who will be as surprised as Mr. Feicht's friends when they read this announcement.

Still greater, doubtless, will be the surprise of the parents of both parties concerned, for even from them did the bride and groom conceal the secret marriage. 

The ceremony was performed by Rev. George Darsie, at the latter's residence, 408 Russell Street, Covington. Those who doubt it, if their curiosity is sufficiently strong, can examine the records. The marriage was properly recorded, but not until this afternoon. 

There is a tinge of romance running through the courtship and marriage. The occasion for the secrecy has not yet been disclosed. It may have been simply a whim, but whatever the cause, the secret was well guarded.

The acquaintance was formed about three years ago, at which time Miss Cory was a student at the Oxford Female College. It was a formal introduction, like many which are given every day. With Mr. Feicht and Miss Cory, however, it was a case of love at first sight, and since that time, it was noted by the friends of the former that he took many trips to Indiana.

During the holidays, Miss Cory visited Dayton, was introduced among Mr. Feicht's acquaintances and much admired by them. Upon leaving Dayton, she went to Aurora, Indiana, to pay a visit among friends.

On the 8th day of January, a date which will long be remembered by her, she started for home via Cincinnati. 

By a preconcerted arrangement she met Mr. Feicht at the Grand Central depot and inasmuch as they had several hours to wait before the train to Fairfield, a stroll was taken around the Queen City.

It seems that it was during this walk that Harry "popped" the question and was accepted. Next came the question: Why not get married at once?

"Why not?" echoed both. It was agreed and a half-hour later, the event described took place.

Mrs. Feicht caught the train and returned to her home at Fairfield. Mr. Feicht came to Dayton and for aught the parents and friends knew, they were yet enjoying single blessedness.

Feight has made several visits to Fairfield, but he posed in the light of a lover, and not a husband. Today they again met in Cincinnati, went to Covington, had the marriage recorded, and tomorrow they start on a brief honeymoon.

Mr. Feicht has engaged and handsomely furnished a suite of rooms at the Phillips House (in Dayton) , where they will be at home to their friends after March 28. They will receive many congratulations upon their return. As already stated, the bride is a cultured and attractive lady.

Although a Protestant by birth and faith, she attended Oldenburg Convent for eight years and afterward attended the Female Seminary at Oxford for a number of years. (aka Western College for Women).

Miss Cory is well known in this city and is a sister of Mrs. Dr. Smolley and a favorite among our young people. Mr. Feicht is well known to many in this city and is an exceedingly clever gentleman. The Examiner extends congratulations.

***

Notes: The "this city" part refers to Dayton, not Connersville. Feicht was from Dayton but left there in 1901. His Find-A-Grave page does not show a wife, but that's only because there's no F-A-G entry. F-A-G is flawed in that respect. The two were still married in 1908, and Noree was still living in Franklin County. Sometime after 1911, she stopped being Mrs. Feicht and started being Miss Cory, which suggests she divorced him. There were apparently no children.

Feicht died in 1918 in New York (aged 56) and was known under the name of Harry Ellsworth. His obituary does not mention Noree at all. Harry was a theater organizer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and lecturer. He was reportedly invited to Chicago in 1897 to produce a musical play about the city's history. He was connected to heavyweights in Midwestern industry. Feicht was not a nobody. 

In 1902, at the St. Louis World's Fair, he put together a mammoth version of "Passion Play," a religious spectacle for which he was famous. Feicht was not a nobody, though he may have been a philanderer.

I found no obituary information on Noree. I concluded that she is still living. -- 2026

Noree's sister was Dr. Maude Cory Smolley, who eventually married Carlton Andrews. Link to that here. 

You could not take a train to Fairfield. Photo of the Cory house in Fairfield is included here. Images are from the Franklin County Historical Society. The photo of Maude (in white) and Noree was taken in 1894 and it's clear Noree is dressed for travel.