m. 5 Mar 1879

Some unsual circumstances surrounding this wedding has lead to interesting speculation. Here's crux of the matter: The marriage certificate, which is in my possession, is signed by Rev Moody and he lists himself as the pastor of the Hamilton Church at that time.  His autobiography lists his relevant pastoral assignments as: 1878-79 Middletown; and 1879-81 Hamilton.  Methodist pastoral changes (at least today) generally happen in July.  So, either he had already actually switched to Hamilton, perhaps a death of a previous pastor had required an earlier transfer date, or he signed the certificate after the fact.  The latter seems the least likely.  

If he was, indeed, at the Hamilton ME Church in March of 1979, it meant that Maggie and John had specifically requested he come back to Middletown (probably a 30-45 minute train ride) for the ceremony.  If so, the question is why?  One bit of speculation revolves around Rev. Moody's avowed abolitionism and even integrationist philosophy.   

It has been rumored, though also not proven, that one of Maggie's sisters married a light-skinned mulatto.  This has lead to a theory that the new preacher at Middletown was not comfortable with her nieces (Clara and Mattie Davison) attending the wedding.  Their father, Matthew Davison, had passed way in 1860.   Maggie, herself, had lived with the Davison family while she was a teenager.  The nieces later lived with her for awhile after she married John.  They were very close knit.  

More research and documentation is needed to either prove or disprove this speculation.  Nonetheless, it's interesting that they were married by this famous preacher, who, during the Civil War, was known as the "fighting parson" as colonel of the 74th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.