"Pride and Promises"

A Quarrel, a Vow, and a Twenty-Year Wait: The Astonishing Love Story of William Craig and Mary Barker

In the small community of Coalton, Pennsylvania, a story of love, pride, and incredible patience once unfolded that sounds more like fiction than fact. An old newspaper clipping from the Jamestown Weekly Alert, details a "romantic episode" that saw two lovers separated by a foolish argument for exactly two decades, only to be reunited by the very vow that tore them apart.

The story begins in 1863. William Craig, a young farmer, was engaged to Mary Barker, the 18-year-old daughter of another local farmer. The two were set to be married on Christmas Day of that year. However, on the evening of December 7, 1863, a social party at the Barker family home set in motion a chain of events no one could have predicted. During the party, Mary danced twice in a row with another young man. William, seeing this, became jealous. He confronted Mary, telling her he didn’t want her dancing with that man again. Stung by his jealousy and command, Mary defiantly replied that she would dance with whomever she chose, as many times as she liked. In the heat of the moment, William issued a stunning ultimatum: if she proceeded, she would not see him again for twenty years. Mary, likely believing it was an empty threat, taunted him back, claiming he "couldn't stay away from her for 20 hours if he tried." 

William went home that night and, true to his word, vanished. The next day he was gone. His parents, with whom he lived, could find no trace of him. As the years stretched on with no word, they began to presume he was dead. But Mary Barker held on to a different belief. She made a solemn vow of her own: she would not go into or receive company until William returned. She retreated from society, living a secluded life, driven by what the article calls a "singular faith that he would come back some day." Few people in the community saw her in the two decades that followed her quarrel. 

Then, on Friday, December 7, 1883—exactly twenty years to the day of the fateful party—a stranger knocked on the Barker family’s door. He was described as a "large, fine-looking man about forty years of age," and he asked to see Miss Mary Barker. When Mary appeared, the man held out his hand and said the words that had hung in the air for two decades: "Mary Barker, didn’t I tell you that you wouldn't see me again in twenty years?" It was William Craig. The shock was so great that Mary fainted in his arms. The article reveals that William had first gone to his parents' home that afternoon, finding both his mother and father still alive. They kept his return a secret to allow for his dramatic reunion with Mary. 

Craig’s twenty-year absence was a story of sheer determination. After leaving home, he had gone directly to Philadelphia and enlisted in the army under an assumed name, serving until the end of the Civil War. Though he longed to return home after being mustered out, his pride and his vow compelled him to stay away. He traveled to Nebraska, where he acquired a tract of land and became a successful farmer. He timed his return precisely, aiming to meet Mary at the very hour he had left her, twenty years prior. He came back a man of "ample fortune" to find that his sweetheart had remained unmarried and had faithfully waited for him.

The story concludes with the ultimate romantic resolution: the wedding that was supposed to happen in 1863 was rescheduled. William Craig and Mary Barker were to be married on the approaching Christmas, finally fulfilling a promise that had been delayed by two decades of stubbornness and unwavering love.