According to the article below, Frank and Tirzah’s “courtship” extended for five years. Frank was two years younger, so he must have been quite young when that relationship started. Here in this picture, on an undated post card, they both look young!

Tirzah sent this post card to her good friend Leota Mattern in September 1910. Tirzah was far away from Frank, going to college in Wichita. The photo is kind of dark, so she starts with an apology for that. The message reads, “My dear Leota, to dark but I’ll send you some better ones when I write again. I’m anxious to hear from you. It’s awfully lonesome now days. With Love Tirzah.”

Here is the most interesting page from Frank & Tirzah’s wedding album. It’s an unofficial marriage certificate, with the signature of Tirzah’s father Lewis E. Stout (“Minister of the Gospel of Christ”) and her mother, Anna Stout. Signatures on the opposite page include those of my future grandparents, 9-year-olds Mildred Stout and Harold Votaw.

This article includes some interesting statements about Frank and Tirzah. The writer says of Tirzah: “She is a demure little Quakeress.” My future grandmother’s role is described thus: “Little Mildred Stout, younger sister of the bride, followed immediately after them bearing the ring…”

This is Lewis Stout’s handwritten script for Tirzah and Frank’s wedding ceremony. It includes their vows. It’s pretty easy to read, and a powerful statement when you consider that it is the bride’s father who is delivering it.