A family celebration marked the golden wedding anniversary on Tuesday, Mary 16 of a kindly and widely known Penn Yan couple, Mr. and Mrs. Morris H. McElwee, formerly of Milo. Their daughter, Mrs. Mildred Neilsen, and their 15 year-old granddaughter, Janice, a sophomore at Penn Yan Academy, shared honors in the preparation of the 50th anniversary observance in the pleasant family home at 512 Liberty street.

Mrs. Harriet McElwee is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Seeley of Hammonton, N.J., and attended both grade and high school there. When she was 19 years old she moved with her family to Poughkeepsie. Her mother had been born in Milo, daughter of the Rev. Myron DePew and it was while visiting relatives in Milo that Miss Seeley became acquainted with Morris McElwee who lived there on his family’s farm.

He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel McElwee and was born in Savona. He was raised on the Milo farm and attended school in Penn Yan. He met Miss Seeley at the home of her cousin, Marvin L. Spooner and the couple were married there in 1904 by the Rev. S. A. Brown, pastor then of the Methodist church at Milo Center.

Dairyman and Artist

The couple established housekeeping on the fine family farm in Milo and for 40 years Mr. and Mrs. McElwee conducted both a dairy and beef cattle farm, keeping as many as 20 milk cows and raising beef besides. Mr. McElwee was one of the first farmers in the area to build an Angus cattle herd. The McElwees speak highly of this breed, praising the fine quality of the meat of the compact built steer and the comparative gentleness of the Angus.

They sold their farm to Chester Gray 10 years ago and retired to Penn Yan. Their attractive home near the Junior High school is made even more meaningful by the many skilled water and oil paints that Mrs. McElwee has created.

Many are local scenes, water and land scapes of the region, and there are western paintings that Mrs. McElwee made when they visited her sister, Mrs. Louis Smith in Washington state in 1930. Mrs. Smith is now also a resident of Penn Yan.

Click on painting to view larger!

Mr. McElwee’s nearest living relative is his brother, Sam McElwee who is the proprietor of a gas station on the outskirts of Penn Yan at the corner of East Main street and the Dundee state road.

All of the wedding party are still living and the attendants are Mrs. Louis Smith, Mr. and Mrs. S.G. McElwee and Frank Wheeler, ring bearer, all of Penn Yan; E.L. Hopping and Miss Louise Wheeler, flower girl, both of Philadelphia, Pa.

Among their friends who were at the wedding 50 years ago are Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hollowell, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Nichols, P.D. Henderson and Carrie Butcher, all of Penn Yan, Arthur Henderson and Hunt Wheeler, both of Milo, Mrs. Fred Maloney and Mrs. Lucille Millard, both of Dundee. Mr. and Mrs. McELwee are in fairly good health and do all their own work about their home and well-kept yard.

Published in the Chronicle-Express (Penn Yan, NY), March 18, 1954, front page and page 3

[Great-granddaughter of SGS # 3302 -Harriet May; James Horatio; Banks; Isaac (# 3302); Eli (# 1480); Eli; Jonathan; Joseph; Cornelius; Obadiah]