There were shivarees in rural Indiana as late as the 1940s. But I never heard that they
were to demonstrate disapproval. I thought they were a form of celebration provided by
the couple's friends. I was only involved in one, shortly after my mother married my
adoptive father. They had gone to bed but he got up and noticed that cars were lined up
in both directions from the driveway. So they got me up and we all went and hid in the
detached garage. Everyone drove in and they started looking for us. My mother's
teen-aged brother found us in the garage. I don't remember much more about it but I
remember hearing that they brought food to share.
-----Original Message-----
From: in-south-central-bounces(a)rootsweb.com [mailto:in-south-central-bounces@rootsweb.com]
On Behalf Of M Nickless via
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 10:31 AM
To: Randi Richardson; in-south-central(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL] Washington County: Mary Martin Driven Insane
I wasn’t familiar with word charivari, so looked it up on WikiPedia:
Charivari (or shivaree or chivaree, also called "rough music") is the term for
a French folk custom in which the community gave a noisy, discordant mock serenade, also
pounding on pots and pans, at the home of newlyweds. The loud, public ritual evolved to a
form of social coercion, for instance, to force an as-yet-unmarried couple to wed. This
type of social custom arose independently in many rural village societies, for instance
also in England, Italy, Wales or Germany, where it was part of the web of social practices
by which the small communities enforced their standards.
The community used noisemaking and parades to demonstrate disapproval, most commonly of
"unnatural" marriages and remarriages, such as a union between an older widower
and much younger woman, or the too early remarriage by a widow or widower. Villages also
used charivari in cases of adulterous relationships, wife beaters, and unmarried mothers.
In some cases, the community disapproved of any remarriage by older widows or widowers.
Charivari is the original French word, and in Canada it is used by both English and French
speakers. Chivaree became the common spelling in Ontario, Canada. In the United States,
the term shivaree is more common.”
From: Randi Richardson via
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 6:04 AM
To: IN-South-Central(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL] Washington County: Mary Martin Driven Insane
Bucks County Gazette, Bristol, Pa., September 19, 1878, p. 2.
A BRIDE DRIVEN CRAZY
Mrs. Mary Martin of Salem, Ind., was taken on Monday morning last to the hospital for the
insane at Indianapolis. Her case is a sad one. Some four years ago she became insane and
was sent there and shortly after returned cured. She married about ten days ago, and at
night the young men and boys got up a charivari. They used guns, pistols, horns, bells
and pans making a fearful din. The noise and yells so affected Mrs. Martin that her
nerves were literally unstrung, and in 24 hours she was a wild, raving maniac. It took
three persons to manage her.
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