Katharine Irvine Wilson Curtin

Katharine Irvine Wilson (1821-1903) married Andrew Gregg Curtin (1815-1894) on May 29, 1844. She was the daughter of a country doctor, Dr William Irvine Wilson (1793-1883) and Mary Potter Wilson (1798-1861). At first glance, it might seem that a young woman residing in the countryside of mid-19th-century rural Pennsylvania would be an unlikely match for the up-and-coming scion of the prominent Curtin Family. This was far from the whole story, however, and indeed the families of Andrew and Katherine had a long-standing association, and both were families of distinction.  
 
Katahrine's mother, Mary Potter Wilson, was the  daughter of General Judge James Potter (1767-1818). Katharine's  great-grandfather was Revolutionary War Colonel -- then Brigadier General  -- James Potter (1729-1789), an Irish immigrant who had arrived in America in 1741. As a captain in the provincial army circa 1759, he explored the region, entering via the West Branch of the 

Susquehanna to Bald Eagle Creek to Spring Creek, and then reputedly became the first European to view Penn's Valley. Years later, after a distinguished military career in the Pennsylvania Militia, he served briefly as Vice President of Pennsylvania (1781-82). He found his contentment, however, in establishing a farm and a grist mill,  around which arose  the community that is still known as Potters Mills. 

Andrew Gregg Curtin's parents were Roland Curtin (1764-1850), the Irish immigrant who was the founding patriarch of the Curtin iron-making enterprise, and Jane Gregg Curtin (1791-1854).  Jane's parents were US Congressman, later US Senator Andrew Gregg (1755-1835) and Martha Potter Gregg (1769-1815).  Martha Potter Gregg was General Judge James Potter's sister.

Accordingly, Andrew Gregg Curtin's maternal grandmother was the sister of Katherine Irvine Wilson's maternal grandfather.  In other words, Andrew and Katharine had great-grandparents in common -- James Potter and Mary Patterson Chambers Potter -- meaning the bride and groom were second cousins.    

By all accounts, the comely and affable Katherine  and the handsome and affable Andrew were well-matched. Katharine became the First Lady of Pennsylvania from 1861 to 1867 and received many dignitaries, among them President-Elect Abraham Lincoln en route to his inauguration; accompanied Andrew and at least two of their five children when Andrew was Minister (Ambassador) to Russia from 1869-1872; returned to their home in Bellefonte prior to Andrew's three terms in the US Congress; remained married to Andrew for 50 years, until his death in 1894.  On December 7, 1903, Katherine was stricken at lunchtime by "a stroke of apoplexy" after she returned home from shopping and died within an hour. She is buried in Union Cemetery, Bellefonte.  

There is an additional footnote with a touch of humor. Roland Curtin (1764-1850) married his first wife, Margery Gregg Curtin (1780-1813) in 1800.  Roland Curtin's brother, Dr. Constans Curtin (1783-1842), married Margery's first cousin, Martha Gregg (1793-1829) in 1810.  A year after the death of Roland Curtin's first wife Margery in 1813, Roland married Jane Gregg (1791-1854), the sister of his brother's wife, Martha.  So by the time Andrew married Katharine in 1844, the Curtins, the Greggs, and the Potters had been intertwined for more than 40 years.  Even if you are paying close attention, you might need to draw a diagram.  

References:  
1 - Online: Find a Grave:  Katharine Irvine Wilson Curtin;  Mary Potter Wilson; General Judge James Potter;  James Potter: Jane Gregg Curtin; Martha Potter Gregg.
2 - Lowrie, SD: Katharine Irvine Wilson Curtin. In: Notable Woman of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2016.
3 - Eggert, G: Making Iron on the Bald Eagle, p 3.  Penn State University Press, University Park, 2000.
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