AHV Secretly Married - 1892

The Hartford Courant, January 26, 1892

SECRETLY MARRIED

A Son of Professor Verrill of Yale Marries a Roman Catholic.

New Haven, Jan. 25 --- Considerable gossip has been caused here by the secret marriage in New York, January 21, of Alpheus H. Verrill, second son of Addison E. Verrill, professor of zoology at Yale, and Miss Kathryn L. McCarthy, daughter of Edwin McCarthy, a wholesale liquor dealer of this city. The first known of the marriage here was the marriage notice printed in Sunday’s New York Herald.

What gave color to the elopement theory is the fact that Mr. Verrill was known to be a Protestant while Miss McCarthy was a Roman Catholic, and it was inferred that their marriage in New York, unbeknown to their immediate friends, was to prevent opposition on the part of the parents.

An investigation into the facts of the case reveals that while the marriage was approved by the parents of the bride the match was strongly opposed by the parents of the groom, and the quiet marriage in New York was to prevent any attempt upon the part of the latter to put a stop to it.

Mrs. Verrill, before her marriage, was a teacher in the Davenport school. She has now resigned. Alpheus H. Verrill was interviewed this morning about the marriage and said: ---

“I have never believed in arranged marriages, and in taking the step I have I have merely committed my own wishes. As a matter of fact, I have during a long period spent in South America attended the Roman Catholic Church almost wholly, as there are no other denominations there, and naturally I, as a Protestant, feel less strongly about the subject. The fact that I was a Protestant in no way interfered with my marriage. We visited the Church of the Holy Cross in New York and explained matters to the pastor, the Rev. Charles McCready, and he secured a dispensation for us and performed the ceremony. Since our return to New Haven we have been living at this hotel and will continue to reside here until next Friday, when we leave for New York, and will embark on a steamer for Costa Rica, Central America, where we will reside in the future. I have secured an official position in the National Museum and I expect to reside there permanently provided the climate agrees with my wife’s health.”