RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Dorset Lookup Requests => Dorset => England => Dorset Completed Look up Requests => Topic started by: selwynfroggitt on Tuesday 15 March 11 19:08 GMT (UK)
-
The Dorset OPC have now got the marriages for Lyme Regis 1653 - 1753 online..
The first Wood is 26 Nov 1718 which I already have but I had no marriage details for his daughter Mary Baptised 26 4 1724.. they are online and she married 3 Feb 1735 / 6 to Joseph Trew she would be 11 years old unless of course she was a little older when baptised... her older brother was baptised 1719 so if born 1720 she would still be only 15.
What was the minimum age for marriage at that date ??
-
Before 1858 there was no minimum legal age, between 1858 and 1929 it was 12 for a girl and 14 for a boy. After 1929 it has been 16 for both sexes. This of course only applies to the UK The minimum age varies from country to country, i.e. in Italy it is 14.
-
Found it.... they could marry at 12 ...
Crossed post
Thanks Redroger....she married young... I just didn't believe 12 but there you are..
-
If you think about it it was a necessity to marry earlier since life expectancy was so much shorter. I have several young teenage marriage in my various trees, and one set of distant ancestors of my wife just beat the baby's arrival by a few days. They both seem to have been 13.
-
You'd think that back in the 1800's, with possibly a poorer diet, harder work, etc., that puberty would kick in later ... and that 12 year olds wouldn't get pregnant ...
-
It clearly didn't! However, no doubt there are other rootschatters who are well qualified to explain why puberty didn't start later, though I seem to remember statements made that on average puberty has come a year earlier between 1800 and 1980.