18-Year-Old Guy Is Looking For A Wife In 1865 And His Newspaper Ad Will Make You Want To Marry Him Now
Back in the 19th century, Tinder and Craigslist weren’t exactly a thing yet, so people had to find other ways to search for a mate. Advertising yourself in a local newspaper was one of them, and that’s exactly what this eligible bachelor did in 1865. Now, in 2017, we all wish we could transport him to the future and take him up on the offer.
The 1800’s were a simpler time in many aspects, and thus, people had simpler wants and needs. If someone had land, agriculture, and a suitable home, they were pretty much set for life. This 18-year-old suitor from Aroostook County, Maine, had the whole package, plus a “good set of teeth.” Talk about dreamy! The clipping has gone viral, with almost 40 thousand upvotes on Reddit and a whole host of reactions – mostly from today’s single ladies who would love to go live on his farm and make him a decent wife. “He had me at ‘my potatoes are bully,'” one Facebook user commented.
We may never know if this old-fashioned Prince Charming managed to find his happily ever after, but given the fact that there was a shortage of young and able-bodied men during his era, we’re sure an eager maiden snatched him up in no time. Check out his sweet and humorous letter below, and let us know if you’d do the honors of keeping him company in the comments!
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Share on FacebookWe need a follow-up. Did he marry eventually? Who did he marry? Was he happy? Did he have kids? Any living relatives? I NEED TO KNOW!!!!!!
He probably died cause of Typhus, Cholera or Syphilis before he reached adulthood.
Load More Replies...Willing to "buy bread-and-butter, hoop-skirts and waterfalls" for his loved one is still a plus for any woman today.
The equivalent of a modern man willing to buy tampons for his girl.
Load More Replies...This is actually how my grandpa found my grandma! He posted an ad in a big newspaper saying that he was looking for a wife who would come help take care of the family farm! They ended up having three boys and lived on that same farm until they were in their early 90's!
Aww snap! He's got 9 sheep, buckwheat, AND wants to buy me a hoopskirt! I'm sold!
To Full Name (below) - She meant she was going to buy HIM, meaning, take him up on his offer. How could you possibly think it was the other way around, sheesh
Load More Replies...I did some research, and our gentleman is likely to be one of these 18 men, (goo.gl/2oUgJb) who would have been 18 in 1865, and got married during that year. I was unable to determine which newspaper the ad came from, so it could be narrowed down if we knew when the personal was posted.
Ok, so the above appeared in Harper's Weekly, September 2, 1865, but appears to be a re-hashing of something that appeared in the Wheeling (WV) Daily Intelligencer on 7/27/1865. If the whole thing isn't just a fiction, that cuts the above list of men in half.
Load More Replies...'person of a female persuasion' - lovely and inclusive phrase that we should use today, too.
Most 18 year olds now could not or would not clear a 1/4 acre. He is 18 going on 30. Bet his body was in fine shape too.
He was an adult at 18. My students THINK they are "grown up" & know it all, but they are years away from the maturity this man showed.
Load More Replies...Would like to note for those who don't know: "Bully" in that time basically meant "awesome".
Haha this is how I imagine the profiles for men on the dating site "Farmers Only"
These advertisements were common in the old days. Unfortunately just like mail order brides of today, some of these men turn out to be not who they are saying.
My heart is all a pitty patter....I must move to Maine and see if I can look him up. ;)
This is a picture that my great grandfather had taken in a studio in Quebec or Levis probably 10 or 20 years after that classified ad. I'm sure the intention was to land a dame, which he did. They moved to 'The County' (Aroostook) took up a Concession (what this guy called a State Lot). I don't know about waterfalls but he did get her pregnant 17 times, and the butter they made themselves. The buckwheat from up there is out of this world and in spite of their poverty disease like Typhus, Cholera, and Syphilis are rare. edouard-59...4b120b.jpg
I'm sure he found someone, and led a happy life full of bread and butter, waterfalls and hoop skirts..he was a true poet-who could not want this guy? What a romantic!
Kinda reminds me of the Dutch show 'boer zoekt vrouw' (farmer searching for wife) tho
Load More Replies...Can someone please define "waterfalls"? Other than the ones found in nature, obviously.
The 19th century equivalent of spam email Russian brides? Actually I'm sure I had one recently that mentioned prize winning potatoes & keen abilities with a scythe.
He just doesn't know how to do it! This is the dictionary definition of totes adorbes
This is cool past life, when animals is near, when you living with nature, staing on earth with naked feets.... You don't need a money...... You don't depend of anybody...... All of that is lost...... Good set of teeth :-) - is it important for womans, like a first question?
He should have stuck to the rivers and the lakes he was used to.
It would be strange for him to be patriotic to another country considering the guy was from the US and posted the ad in a US newspaper ...
Load More Replies...We need a follow-up. Did he marry eventually? Who did he marry? Was he happy? Did he have kids? Any living relatives? I NEED TO KNOW!!!!!!
He probably died cause of Typhus, Cholera or Syphilis before he reached adulthood.
Load More Replies...Willing to "buy bread-and-butter, hoop-skirts and waterfalls" for his loved one is still a plus for any woman today.
The equivalent of a modern man willing to buy tampons for his girl.
Load More Replies...This is actually how my grandpa found my grandma! He posted an ad in a big newspaper saying that he was looking for a wife who would come help take care of the family farm! They ended up having three boys and lived on that same farm until they were in their early 90's!
Aww snap! He's got 9 sheep, buckwheat, AND wants to buy me a hoopskirt! I'm sold!
To Full Name (below) - She meant she was going to buy HIM, meaning, take him up on his offer. How could you possibly think it was the other way around, sheesh
Load More Replies...I did some research, and our gentleman is likely to be one of these 18 men, (goo.gl/2oUgJb) who would have been 18 in 1865, and got married during that year. I was unable to determine which newspaper the ad came from, so it could be narrowed down if we knew when the personal was posted.
Ok, so the above appeared in Harper's Weekly, September 2, 1865, but appears to be a re-hashing of something that appeared in the Wheeling (WV) Daily Intelligencer on 7/27/1865. If the whole thing isn't just a fiction, that cuts the above list of men in half.
Load More Replies...'person of a female persuasion' - lovely and inclusive phrase that we should use today, too.
Most 18 year olds now could not or would not clear a 1/4 acre. He is 18 going on 30. Bet his body was in fine shape too.
He was an adult at 18. My students THINK they are "grown up" & know it all, but they are years away from the maturity this man showed.
Load More Replies...Would like to note for those who don't know: "Bully" in that time basically meant "awesome".
Haha this is how I imagine the profiles for men on the dating site "Farmers Only"
These advertisements were common in the old days. Unfortunately just like mail order brides of today, some of these men turn out to be not who they are saying.
My heart is all a pitty patter....I must move to Maine and see if I can look him up. ;)
This is a picture that my great grandfather had taken in a studio in Quebec or Levis probably 10 or 20 years after that classified ad. I'm sure the intention was to land a dame, which he did. They moved to 'The County' (Aroostook) took up a Concession (what this guy called a State Lot). I don't know about waterfalls but he did get her pregnant 17 times, and the butter they made themselves. The buckwheat from up there is out of this world and in spite of their poverty disease like Typhus, Cholera, and Syphilis are rare. edouard-59...4b120b.jpg
I'm sure he found someone, and led a happy life full of bread and butter, waterfalls and hoop skirts..he was a true poet-who could not want this guy? What a romantic!
Kinda reminds me of the Dutch show 'boer zoekt vrouw' (farmer searching for wife) tho
Load More Replies...Can someone please define "waterfalls"? Other than the ones found in nature, obviously.
The 19th century equivalent of spam email Russian brides? Actually I'm sure I had one recently that mentioned prize winning potatoes & keen abilities with a scythe.
He just doesn't know how to do it! This is the dictionary definition of totes adorbes
This is cool past life, when animals is near, when you living with nature, staing on earth with naked feets.... You don't need a money...... You don't depend of anybody...... All of that is lost...... Good set of teeth :-) - is it important for womans, like a first question?
He should have stuck to the rivers and the lakes he was used to.
It would be strange for him to be patriotic to another country considering the guy was from the US and posted the ad in a US newspaper ...
Load More Replies...
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