I am a firm believer in fate. Things happen for a reason, and there is no good explanation. Last night, fate stepped in and felt like the tale of Melvin and Emma needed to be told.

When I have free time, I like to search online for discarded family heirlooms. There’s a myriad of reasons why these keepsakes are looking for new homes. Some seem to beg me to be their steward through this life. While I collect many different things, I especially love old, ornate marriage certificates. I found one that was from my home state of Indiana, and it had photos of the couple. Those are tough to find, and I get really excited when I find one. I purchased it with the intent of researching the couple. And then life happens. But last night, I grabbed it from its special perch to start my investigation. When I saw the date, it stopped me in my tracks. It was today, June 16th. At that moment, I knew I needed to drop everything else and learn about this couple.

On a summer Sunday in 1889, Melvin Kimmel and Emma Bolinger said their wedding vows at the home of Ozias Metz in Whitley County, Indiana. 

Melvin was the son of Conrad and Mary Price Kimmel. He was born December 29, 1866, and raised in Whitley County with his siblings – Almira and Albert. Neither of his siblings would reach the age of five.

Emma was the daughter of Rudolph and Sophia Mohler Bolinger. She was born June 4, 1867, in Stark County, Ohio. Her siblings Clara, Orilla, Jissie (sp?), and Ellen were also born in Stark County before the family made the move to Whitley County, Indiana. Another sibling, Noah, would be born into the Bolinger family in Indiana.

Melvin and Emma resided in Whitley County, Indiana, for their entire life together, where Melvin worked as a grocer. They only had one child, Elva. She was never married.

Emma passed away in 1919, and Melvin followed her 11 years later in 1930. The couple is buried in Eberhard Cemetery in Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. Elva rests there with them, too.

So, today, 134 years later, Happy Anniversary, Melvin and Emma! You are not forgotten. May your souls find solace in the celestial realms, where you rest eternally side by side, your love immortalized in the tapestry of time.