Marshall's
descendant marries on Marshall's campus
From: The
Herald-Dispatch
July 2, 2006
Author: CURTIS JOHNSON
JoAnn Adkins is quite
literally a daughter of the great John Marshall.
The newlywed, formerly
known as JoAnn Elmer, was married on the campus that
bears her ancestor's name Saturday afternoon in
Huntington. The fifth-great-granddaughter of the
nation's fourth chief justice said she is proud of her
ancestry and has learned about him ever since she was
young.
"Being a descendant of
John Marshall was always kind of a big deal to my
family, I guess," she said. "My grandmother really
drilled it into our heads when we were kids about what
it meant and why it was important. They carted us around
to his house in Richmond, Va., and they told us the
stories of what he did.
"I mean, I knew things
about Marbury vs. Madison when I was 7, that most kids
don't learn until they are in high school," she added.
That landmark ruling went
on to establish the role of the United States Supreme
Court.
JoAnn and her husband,
Bill Adkins, are Marshall graduates, and he said they
shared in the unique decision to get married on campus.
"We both had it in the
back of our mind that we wanted to do it here, but
neither one thought we would really go for it," he said.
JoAnn echoed the
groom's sentiments, but she said so many people asked if
they were serious about having their wedding at Marshall
that they agreed to place an explanation of their
decision in the wedding's program.
"We met because we both
went to Marshall," she said. "We would have never met
had we not both gone to Marshall. It was one of those
things where if a wedding is supposed to be a party,
then there is no place better for our party than this
place."
The newlyweds plan to
have what Bill referred to as a "pseudo honeymoon," as
they load up a trailer today and move to their new home
in Miami, Fla.
"It will be as good as you
can get with a moving truck and two cats," he said.
The newlyweds plan to
enjoy a complete honeymoon next spring. However, Bill
was quick to say southern Florida is just a stopping
point for now, and that he has already promised many of
his friends and family that they will be returning to
West Virginia.
"We wanted to try
something different, while it was just the two of us
because the world is a big place and then come back
home," he said. "This will always be home."
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