Brother and Sister marry Brother and Sister

 

As you know, I'm a bit fixated on the brother/sister marry brother/sister situation that occurred in our family.  Our grandparents, Eleanor "Lillie" Motier and Edward M. Keating, married and their siblings George Basil Motier and Mary A. Keating also married. 

This just raises all kinds of questions for me, most of which cannot be answered, but I did some digging to find out a few things. 

First, did the Motiers and the Keatings know each other in Davenport?  I have no idea.  Both families lived in Davenport and I think they went to the same church, but did they know each other?  Can't say.  Probably.

Why did the two families move to Chicago?  I think we can now say that Edward M. moved to Chicago for job prospects, particularly working in the Columbian Exposition.  Did George Motier also work in the Exposition?  No idea. His father, Joseph, had a brick business, but did that end when Joseph died (in 1880) or did older brothers get that business? No idea.  But I do know that both families (including the widowed mothers) moved to Chicago around 1890.

Which sibling pair married first? This one I can answer! It turns out Mary Keating and George Motier married first, on June 1, 1892.  Edward M. and Eleanor married the following year on May 10, 1893.  

So, how did the second marriage happen?  Who knows, it's anyone's guess.  Both Keating and Motier had their mothers with them in Chicago, did the two old ladies do matchmaking?  Did Mary and George instigate this or did Edward M. and Eleanor just find each other?  Who knows? 

I do have copies of an intriguing, undated photo that my dad got from a  cousin of his named Ann O'Brien whose grandmother was Mary Keating Motier.  They are two professional photos taken at a photo studio in Chicago called J.B. Wilson which was located at 389 State Street. 

I believe these photos are taken to commemorate the engagement and/or wedding of Eleanor and Edward.  I say that because Eleanor is dressed a bit differently, particularly in the second photo.  The first photo contains the following people (annotated by this cousin, Ann O'Brien).  Front row seated left to right: George Motier, Mary Keating Motier, Joe Gillooley, Henry Motier (who she notes married Alice Ryan).  Back Row: Joe Carmody, Lillie Motier Keating, Mary Motier Gillolly, Edward Keating, Mame Fayle Carmody, Nellie Keating.

So, here are the three children of Michael Keating and Bridget Creagh.

Here are our great grandparents, Lillie Motier Keating and Edward Keating.

Here is George Motier, Lillie's brother who marries Edward's sister, Mary. In fact, I bet they were already married when this photograph was taken.

Okay, here's the second photo, this one, I think, really shows it is for Eleanor "Lillie's" wedding and/or engagement.

Again, according to the annotations of Ann O'Brien, front row seated, left to right we have Nellie Keating, Lillie Motier Keating, Mary Keating Motier.  Second row, standing left to right: Joe Carmody, Mary Motier Gillooley, George Motier, Edward Keating, Henry Motier, Mame Fayle Carmody (daughter of Louise & Will Fayle), and Joseph Gilooley.

Eleanor is front and center and in a different colored dress, so I think this is her wedding and/or engagement photos.

Here's one just highlighting the Keating siblings, Michael Keating and Bridget Creagh's children:

Photography was still a relatively new medium in 1893 and getting professional photographs taken was a big deal and cost a fair amount of money.  I can tell you that the Keatings did not have much money, but I suspect the Motiers did. These photos seem pretty fancy to me. 

Mary and George end up having five children: Joseph, Frank Alice, Stella and Mary.  Sadly, Mary Keating Motier dies young, in 1904 when she is only 36.  George Motier dies in 1939 in Chicago. My dad knew the son of Alice Motier Stevens and Ann O'Brien's mother was another Mary, the daughter of George and Mary.  My dad also had contact with her.  Stella Motier ends up with an interesting life...I'll save that for another blog.

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