Wedding Wednesday - James and Agnes (Keeling) Watson

My great-grandparents, James Milton Watson and Agnes Pearl Keeling, were married at Howe, Grayson, Texas on 23 Aug 1898 [1].  James was 25 and Agnes was 19. The photo shown here is a copy (made in the early 1960s) of their wedding portrait. 
 
Consistent with their wedding date, the bride and groom are both wearing styles typical of the late 1890s. Agnes has on a white, high-necked, floor-length gown. The photo is slightly overexposed, making it difficult to see details of the dress, but there appear to be ruffles on the bodice as well as on the slightly puffed sleeves.  James is wearing a patterned jacket with a vest and trousers.  His white shirt has a wing collar and he appears to be wearing a light-colored bow tie.
 
I wish I had asked my grandma more questions about her parents.  For example, I don’t know how they met.  Family stories say that James moved to Grayson County, Texas from Anderson County, South Carolina sometime after his father died in 1893 [2].  His sister and her husband had moved to Grayson County a few years earlier.  Agnes moved to Texas from Arkansas with her parents about 1885 [3].  I believe both families were living near Howe in the late 1890s.  Did they meet at church?  At a social event?  Were they introduced by friends?  Sadly, I may never know.
 
James and Agnes had six children, including a set of twins.  In the early 1910s, they moved to Hopkins County, Texas [4].  A few years later, they moved “out west” to Lockney in Floyd County, Texas [5].  James and Agnes were married for 51 years before James passed away on 13 Jan 1950 [6].  Agnes died 21 Sep 1963 [7].

---

[1] Grayson County, Texas, Marriage Certificates, J. M. Watson and Agness [sic] Keeling.
[2] Anderson Intelligencer, Library of Congress, 5 Apr 1893, p. 3
[3] Denton Record-Chronicle, 22 Feb 1944, p. 1
[4] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Record for Maurine Watson Thompson.
[5] Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Floyd; Roll: 1953357. Record for Jim Milton Watson.
[6] Watson Family Bible
[7] Texas Death Certificates, Record for Agnes Pearl Watson