Anyone planning to pop the question this Valentine’s Day may want to consult Leonidas Harper’s 1858 missive to his future bride first. His Civil War-era marriage proposal sets a high bar.
Preserved in a collection of letters by the Dorchester Heritage Center (DHC) in St. George, Leonidas Adolphus (“L.A.”) Harper’s offer for the hand of Elizabeth Catherine Dantzler is a beautifully penned example of why the DHC exists.