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.
Jeanie spent winters in New York, attending balls, weddings, and the opera. She went on calls with her mother and sister. The family attended The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. From time to time, she would visit her cousins Janey and Eliza Wilkes in Washington, DC. In the summer, the Smedberg family joined countless New Yorkers in packing up the entire house to escape the heat in the mountains of New York. The Smedberg family, of course, returned to Devasego.
In the spring of 1848, the recently promoted Commodore Charles Wilkes and his youngest son, Edmund, traveled south to investigate the estate of his uncle, William Renwick, who had left behind an interest in a gold mine near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jack was still away at sea.
The earliest surviving letters date to 1847 and contain descriptions of Jack’s adventures at sea and Jeanie’s activities in New York and Devasego. From the letters, we learn that towards the end of 1852, Jack and Jeanie confessed their feelings for one another, and the letters reveal the depth of their relationship.
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:
