This photograph was passed down through the generations to Roy Curtis Yelton, who was always told it showed a “Shotgun Wedding.” This tradition has been long associated with the Appalachian South, but for those who don’t know, the phrase signifies a marriage forced on a couple by their families, especially if the bride is pregnant and the family’s honor is at stake. It’s interesting that the only individual depicted with a firearm is the groom!
The names of the couple getting married are not known, but the older man standing on the far right has been identified as Benjamin Mosley (1843-1920), son of Nathan and Eliza Wilson Mosley. The older woman sitting on the right is his wife Millie Garland Mosley (1847-1928), daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Forbes Garland.
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