My great-grandparents Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946) and Abbey Ardelle "Della" Smith (1862-1944) married on 11 September 1887 in Wano, Cheyenne County, Kansas. I told their stories in ABC Biography of #12 Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946) of Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado and California (27 April 2025) and ABC Biography of #13 Abbey Ardelle "Della" (Smith) Carringer (1862-1944) of Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and California (30 April 2025) based on my genealogical and family history research over 38 years.
I don't have any "family stories" about their early life except what is in the records I have from family sources, books and periodicals, and online record collections. Fortunately, I have Della's scrapbook and a number of records about their life in San Diego.
Part 1 of the "Austin and Della life stories" series is in "Austin and Della: Curtain Call On the Prairie" - AI Historical Fiction. This is Part 2, courtesy of Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4:
"Austin and Della Life Stories" -- Part Two: New Beginnings
BREAKING THE NEWS
The short ride to the Smith ranch was filled with nervous laughter and stolen kisses. When they arrived, Della's parents, Devier J. and Abbie Smith, were waiting on the porch as if they'd sensed the news in the wind.
"Papa, Mama," Della called out, practically floating up the steps. "Austin and I... we're getting married!"
Abbie Smith's face broke into a radiant smile. "Oh, my dear girl! I wondered when that young man would finally work up the courage." She embraced them both. "You've chosen well, Della. Austin's a good man with steady hands and a kind heart."
Devier Smith clapped Austin on the shoulder. "Welcome to the family, son. You'll take good care of our Della?"
"With my life, sir," Austin replied solemnly.
The wagon journey to Boulder took three days, crossing the familiar landscape of eastern Colorado. They camped under the stars, Della's head on Austin's shoulder as he pointed out constellations and shared stories of his childhood in the mountains.
At the Carringer family home in Boulder, Austin's parents, Jackson and Rebecca Carringer, had already prepared a feast. Word of the engagement had preceded them in a letter Austin had sent weeks earlier.
"Mother, Father," Austin announced as they climbed down from the wagon, "I'd like you to meet my wife, Mrs. Della Carringer."
Rebecca embraced Della warmly. "Welcome to our family, dear. Austin's letters have been full of nothing but praise for your theatrical talents and your good sense."
THE CEREMONY
The wheat was golden in the fields around Wano when Rev. Emanuel Richards pronounced Austin and Della husband and wife. The simple ceremony took place in the small chapel that doubled as the town's meeting hall, with both families gathered close. Della wore her mother's ivory silk dress, carefully altered for the Kansas heat, while Austin stood proud in his best suit, the same one he'd worn for their performances of "My Cousin Joe."
"Well, Mrs. Carringer," Austin whispered as they signed the marriage certificate, "ready for our grand adventure?"
Della squeezed his hand, her new gold wedding band catching the prairie sunlight streaming through the chapel windows. "Lead the way, Mr. Carringer."
THE JOURNEY WEST
Denver's Union Station bustled with travelers, vendors, and the hiss of steam engines. Austin and Della stood on the platform, their few possessions packed in two modest carpetbags, Austin's carpenter tools in a wooden box, and exactly twenty dollars in Austin's vest pocket.
"The California Special, bound for Los Angeles!" the conductor called out.
As the train pulled away from the station, Della pressed her face to the window, watching the Rocky Mountains give way to desert plains. "Austin, look how vast it all is. We're really doing this, aren't we?"
"No turning back now, my dear," he said, taking her hand. "Though I confess, twenty dollars seems a rather small fortune for starting a new life."
"It's enough," she said firmly. "We have each other, and you have your trade. The railroad is expanding everywhere—there'll be work aplenty for a skilled carpenter."
ARRIVAL IN PARADISE
San Diego's climate hit them like a warm embrace after the autumn chill of Colorado. Palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, and the air smelled of salt and orange blossoms. They'd never seen anything like it.
"Austin, it's like stepping into a picture book," Della marveled as they walked from the Santa Fe depot toward National City, where Austin had heard the railroad was hiring carpenters.
They found lodging in a small frame house just a few blocks from the railroad yards—two rooms for twelve dollars a month, leaving them with eight dollars for food and necessities.
"It's perfect," Della declared, surveying their new home. The house was simple but clean, with windows that opened to catch the Pacific breeze. "We'll make it ours."
Austin found work the very next day. The Santa Fe Railroad was expanding rapidly, building new stations and repair facilities. His skills as a carpenter were in high demand, and his supervisor, a gruff but kindly man named Tom Brady, took an immediate liking to the young couple.
"Your husband's got good hands and a good eye," Brady told Della when she brought Austin his lunch on his third day. "We need men like him. The railroad's growing faster than we can build it."
LETTERS HOME
Every Sunday evening, Austin and Della sat at their small kitchen table, writing letters to their families.
Dearest Papa and Mama, Della wrote in her careful script, You would not believe the wonders of this place. Yesterday, Austin and I took the ferry across the bay to see the new Hotel del Coronado. It's like a fairy tale castle made of white wood, with towers and turrets rising from the sand. Ladies in the most beautiful gowns stroll the beach, and gentlemen in white suits play tennis on manicured courts. We had lemonade on the porch and watched the Pacific waves roll in. I never imagined water could be so blue!
Austin added his own letter to his parents: The work here is steady and pays well. I'm earning $18 a week, more than I ever made in Colorado. The other carpenters are good men, and several have invited us to their homes for dinner. Della has made fast friends with Mrs. O'Malley next door, who's teaching her to grow tomatoes in the sandy soil. The climate is so mild that flowers bloom year-round, and oranges grow right in people's yards!
ADVENTURES AND DISCOVERIES
Their Sundays became adventures. They explored Balboa Park, where exotic plants from around the world grew in carefully tended gardens. They walked the bustling docks downtown, watching ships from Panama and Mexico unload their cargo. Street vendors sold fresh fish and tropical fruits they'd never tasted.
One particularly memorable Saturday, they joined a group of railroad families for an excursion to Tijuana, just across the Mexican border.
"Austin, listen to the music!" Della exclaimed as they wandered through the market square. A mariachi band played while women in colorful dresses danced, and the air was filled with the aroma of unfamiliar spices.
"We're a long way from Kansas, aren't we?" Austin laughed, buying Della a small pottery vase painted with bright flowers.
"A lifetime away," she agreed, "and I wouldn't trade it for all the wheat fields in America."
FINDING THEIR PLACE
By their sixth month in California, the Carringers had settled into a comfortable rhythm. Austin had been promoted to crew supervisor, and Della had started giving piano lessons to supplement their income. Their little house now boasted curtains Della had sewn herself, a garden where tomatoes and peppers grew side by side, and a small front porch where they sat each evening, watching the sunset paint the western sky.
"Do you ever miss the theatre?" Austin asked one evening as they shared a glass of wine—a luxury they could now afford.
Della considered the question, watching a pelican glide past their window toward the bay. "I miss the excitement of opening night, the gasps from the audience during a dramatic scene. But Austin, this life we're building... it's better than any play. We're writing our own story now, and every day brings a new scene."
Austin raised his glass. "To our grand adventure, Mrs. Carringer. May it run for sixty years or more."
"To love," Della replied, clinking her glass against his, "and to brave new beginnings."
As the Pacific stars emerged overhead, they sat contentedly in their small California paradise, their Kansas roots now nourishing dreams they'd never dared imagine on that summer evening in Wano when a young carpenter first found the courage to propose to his leading lady.
They probably took a wagon or coach to Denver from Wano, Kansas, and taken the train to Pueblo, Colorado where they could take the train to Los Angeles through New Mexico, Arizona and California. There was a train from San Bernardino to San Diego in late 1887. They arrived there in early October.
I can only imagine the excitement, and the challenges, of my great-grandparents as they started their life together in a place far away from their homes and families. I want to believe the above fictional account, it seems realistic, but it is only a series of snapshots in time of lives lived every day.
This is a series of fictional short stories (but based on actual events in their lives) about the lives of Austin and Della (Smith) Carringer. Getting married, the honeymoon trip, to San Diego, having a family, owning and building their own house, having a grandchild, and living their lives for almost 60 more years?
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