Oh Sophia

   Stephen B. LaSalle married Addie Deckner around 1878 in Atlanta.  Together they had two children, and when the youngest child was two years old, Stephen married Addie's younger sister, Sophia.  In Atlanta!  Stephen and Addie had two more children, and when the youngest one of those two was six years old, Stephen married Sophia again!!  But seven years later, Stephen and Addie appear on the census together as a couple who had been married for 23 years.  Stephen never appears in the city directory without Addie.  Surprising is Stephen's occupation of city marshal.

   So what is going on here?  Bigamy? 

From Wikipedia: In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another.  Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other.  

   How can a man with a high profile government job be married to two women at the same time, who live in the same city, who are also sisters?  Were Addie and Sophia really unaware that their husband was the same man?  And if Stephen and Sophia just wanted to carry on an adulterous affair, why did they bother to get married in the same town where Addie lived?  Or why did they bother to get married at all?  And why did they get married twice?  Talk about a family scandal!

Addie and Sophia are the sisters of Pauline Deckner Thaden--my 2nd great grandmother.

Picture from http://www.dre1allianceent.com/married-three-times-pastor-charged-with-bigamy/