Thirty-nine years after they were prom dates at Stuttgart High School, Martha Ellen and Beau Talbot rediscovered each other. Soon love blossomed, and they were married in September 2016. With talents that complemented one another — she with experience in event planning and retail and he in banking, culinary arts, real estate and construction — they searched for a business that would allow them to work together. They decided on owning and operating a bed and breakfast and searched for historic properties in Southern Antebellum cities, including New Orleans, Natchez and Vicksburg. Their search had come up empty when Martha Ellen mentioned a friend of hers, David Garner, who owned Marlsgate Plantation. Garner, a Natchez native, had purchased Choctaw Hall plantation with his business partner R. Lee Glover in March 2014, and he was entertaining offers for the historic property in Scott. The Talbots met with Garner and Glover, drafted a one-page handwritten offer and soon became the third family to own the property, which was founded in the late 19th century. “After being apart and then finding each other, we wanted to be able to use whatever skill sets we had developed along the way and be able to hold hands every day and work together,” says Martha Ellen. “We wanted to be able to spend our days, not just our nights, but our days holding hands together.” Original Article Link: https://aymag.com/marlsgate-plantation-growing-love