From Struggles and Triumphs or, Forty Years' Recollections of P. T. Barnum, written by himself. The Courier Co.: Buffalo, NY, 1882: "In the autumn of 1874 I married again. My second wife is the daughter of my old English friend, John Fish, Esq., whom I have embalmed in the thirty-second chapter of this book, under the title of "An Enterprising Englishman." We were married in the Church of the Divine Paternity, Fifth Avenue, New York, by my old and esteemed friend, the Rev. Dr. Chapin, in the presence of members of my family and a large gathering of gratified friends. After a brief bridal tour, our wedding receptions were attended at Waldemere."
On February 14, 1874, thirteen weeks after the death of his first wife, P. T. Barnum and Nancy Fish (40 years his junior) were married in a secret ceremony in London. Two months later Barnum returned to the United States, followed by Nancy, and on September 16th they were remarried in a lavish public ceremony in New York City. The fact of their secret marriage was unknown until the original marriage certificate was discovered – 120 years later!