Davy Crockett marriage license appraised

Crockett's marriage license

Britney Spears' first marriage, a 15 minute altar fiasco lasted longer than Davy Crockett's.

The king of the wild frontier's first adventure — marriage — was over before it even started when his first love left him at the altar.

Even though Davy Crockett's wedding ceremony never took place, the marriage license that had been filled out was saved, and it eventually found its way into the hands of Margaret from Tampa who brought it to the ANTIQUE ROADSHOW.

Margaret's uncle, a Davy Crockett fan, had grabbed it when the archives of the Dandridge, Tennessee courthouse were being cleaned out. They were throwing away all things that were considered "unimportant," and since the marriage never happened, they felt the marriage license had no value whatsoever. Appraiser Francis Wahlgren was delighted to see such a treasure at the ROADSHOW. He told Margaret that it was well documented that Davy Crockett was to be married and the license was issued, but his wife-to-be ran off and eloped with someone else. Francis explained that the document's significance is priceless; it gives insight into the early life of someone that we all know as a backwoods statesman and the hero of the Alamo.

The license shows that he was to marry Margaret Elder in October of 1805, when he was just 19 years old. Francis gave the document an auction estimate of $20,000 to $30,000, but since Margaret intends to keep it, he advised her to insure it for $40,000 to $50,000.

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