The Widow Who Chose Her Second Husband When the First Returned

Rev. Drury Dobbins married Mrs. Callahan, a widow whose husband had deserted her many years earlier. Years after the marriage, Dobbins was returning home one Sunday afternoon when he was confronted by the angry former husband, who demanded the return of his wife. Dobbins had married her believing Callahan was dead, having heard he had died in Georgia.

After discussion, the two men agreed to let the woman decide. Callahan spoke first, offering excuses for his failures and insisting she return to him. She replied that he had deserted her in Tennessee, left her with children to support, and had been gone ten years, during which time she heard he had died. She said that Mr. Dobbins had been a faithful and true husband, unlike Callahan, and she chose to remain with Dobbins.

Under old North Carolina law, either party could remarry after seven years if the missing spouse had not been heard from and was believed dead. Many prominent people in the area later claimed relationship to Drury Dobbins by blood or marriage.

Source: Mamie Jones.