Hi,
I have a situation where my Great Grandmother, Emma Glossop, who was born in 1832, married my Great Grandfather, George Flint (bn. 1827), in 1847, when Emma would have been about 15. Would it have been likely that someone of that age would have been able to marry?
The situation is 'complicated' by the fact that Emma appears to have given birth to a son, John Flint, in 1846, before she married George, when she would only have been 14.
Son John, carried the name of Flint, seemingly on every Census I have looked at, allthough he was not baptised it would appear till 30th January 1848.
There may well have been embarassment over having given birth at such a very young age, and an element of the parents 'having' to marry when it was practical to do so.
Emma Glossop was born in Holloway, or at least that part which was in the Parish of Crich at the time. George, the apparent father, was born in Wessington, but the family later moved to Wakebridge, again in Crich Parish.
The wedding in 1847, and the baptism in 1848, both took place at Crich.
Various census records that I have looked at, if you calculate the birth date by using the Census year put John's birth year at 1847, 1848, or even on one Census 1849. But I presume that John must have known his actual birth year, because on his gravestone in the churchyard at Christ Church, Wessington, it does say 1846.
So there we have it, a bit of a mystery, but I would be intrigued to learn more about the apparent age at the time of the birth/marriage, and whether such a thing was ever possible.
Regards,
Alan