Lieutenant Andrew Summers Rowan married Miss Ida Symns in the
Presbyterian Church of Atchison, Kansas on April 12, 1887. At the
time, Rowan was stationed at Fort Pembina in North Dakota. I'm trying
to find out how he met his wife.

How solid is the information about his being stationed in N. Dakota at
the time?  Assuming that Atchison was probably her home town, what
connection did Rowan have to Kansas, if any?  Any chance of finding
more information from the church registry?  Would a Lt on service in
ND in 1887 have been allowed to marry?

All the facts given in my query are certain. I can think of only one
possible connection with Atchison: Ida's father, A. B. Symns, had a
wide-ranging wholesale grocery business and might very well have been
a purveyor to Fort Pembina. The distance between the two locations is
great, but the distance from Pembina to everywhere was great at that
time. Interestingly enough, A.B. Symns was born in Monroe County,
Virginia, in 1831 (before it became West Virginia)and moved west in
1853, eventually making his way to Atchison. Rowan, too, was born in
Monroe County, but three years after A. B. left. Still, the
coincidence of their birthplace suggests a connection. Perhaps A.B.
and Rowan met at Pembina, learned of their common background, and A.B.
invited Rowan to visit on his next leave. But this is merely
speculation.