On April 20, 1854, we were married in the old house, 22 Beach St., New York… by Dr. Jas. W. Alexander of the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church; Edmund Wilkes and Laura Renwick, James R. Smedberg and Janey Wilkes were our attendants, and about 60 guests, family and intimates. The early spring had been very forward, but a few days before the 20th, we had a heavy snow fall …I think that was the time your father had to come over…in a sleigh, as the tunnels were so blocked with snow…
In late 1853, Charles Wilkes entered into an agreement with a firm in New York and established The Capps Gold Mine, Company. The property was part of the estate of his wife's uncle, James Renwick. It was decided that Jack Wilkes would manage the production at St. Catherine's Mill which was located just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. At the time, the railroad finally reached what was then a small town with dirt roads that became impassable in bad weather. Jack took on the task of preparing the residence on the property for his new bride.
Postcard of Devasego Falls near the Smedberg's summer home.
The summer of 1853 found Jeanie in the Catskills at the Smedbergy's summer house Devasego in Greene County, New York. Here she passed the days entertaining friends, horseback riding, picnicing, minding her younger brothers as well as her nieces and nephews. Her letters from this time period are filled with a longing to be with Jack and for him to find employment that would enable them to marry.
In December of 1849, Lieutenant Jack Wilkes spent Christmas with the Smedberg family on his way to join the USS Marion. He will be at sea for almost three years in the Pacific. From that year on until 1851, Jeanie spent every summer with the Wilkes family in Washington, DC. During this time she met Stephen A. Douglas; Harriet Lane Johnson, niece of President James Buchanan; Sophie Alexander, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, and General Jack Gibbon.
At left, is Devasego, the Smedberg family’s summer home. The back edition was added after the family sold the house and it was converted into an inn. Jeanie wrote often from Devasego to Jack in Washington, DC. In a letter dated July 10, 1853, she tried to help him work through family duties and career uncertainties that stood as obstacles to their marriage.
The families agreed on April 20, 1854, in New York City for the wedding of John (Jack) Wilkes and Jane (Jeanie) Smedberg. Jack began the long journey from Charlotte in March. As the 20th grew alarmingly near, Jeanie counted on the latest communication technology of her time:
From the “Autobiography of Mrs. John Wilkes (nee Jane Renwick Smedberg) Charlotte, NC 1903.” (typescript in Wilkes-Smedberg Papers, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room):
Dearest Jeanie… Highlights of the Wilkes - Smedberg Papers (1853-1913)
In 1854, a young couple stepped off a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their names were Jane Renwick Smedberg and John Wilkes. Family and friends called them Jeanie and Jack. The bride had grown up in New York City, and the groom had grown up in Washington, DC, until he joined the Navy in his teens.