JAMES V. & GEORGIA INGRAM

Source: Tri-County News, Waveland, Montgomery County, Indiana March 8, 1956
Submitted by:  Karen Zach

Married 68 years and yet privileged to celebrate only 16 anniversaries is the unusual and, we daresay, rather rare distinction to be accorded Mr. and Mrs. James V. INGRAM of Helt Twp, Vermillion County. In the first place, it is obvious that few couples are fortunate enough to be permitted 68 years together. To reduce even further to their proper mathematical proportion the number of marriages which take place on a Leap year Day makes even more obvious the fact that the Ingrams are nearly in a class by themselves. To share the same distinction it would be necessary to find another couple which had been married on the same day, Feb 29, 1888. That was the day that Jim and Georgia Ingram became husband and wife following a courtship which began when they first met at a camp meeting at Montezuma several months earlier. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Ira Mater. Mrs. Ingram was born in Douglas Co, Illinois near Tuscola. Jim was born in Helt Twp. Jan 27, 1866 and was 90 his last birthday. He fully expects to reach the century mark. Although his hearing is somewhat impaired, he otherwise appears to be in fairly good physical shape and we're inclined to share his view that he can reach the goal he has set. Jim has lived in Helt Twp. all his life, where he has farmed and in his present home on old state road 63 N of Hillsdale since 1924. Jim was the 12th of 17 children born to his mother; his father had 3 children by another marriage to round out the number to an even 20. Only Jim and one sister, Mrs. Sue Richards of Hillsdale survive. The Ingrams have four children, Forrest Wayne of Rockville; Homer D. of Newport; Catherine Byers of Brownstown and Gladys Miller of Hillsdale. There are 6 grandchildren and 3 greats. Since the Ingrams were married Leap Year Day they had only every fourth year in which to note an anniversary. To further complicate matters, they had to wait a period of 8 years between 1896 and 1904 to celebrate because 1900, a centesimal year is not exactly divisible by 400 and is not therefore a Leap Year. Thus, in 68 years of married life, the Ingrams have had only 16 true anniversary days.