Ten year old mother?

[Davedrave]

Whilst tidying up a few loose ends I came across the second wife of a widower great, great uncle. He married her in 1884, but in 1881, when she was living with her parents and siblings, the census makes interesting reading.

The family were parents Moses Bennett (38) and wife Naomi (33), with their nine children, aged from 23 down to 4. If true this means that eldest son was born when his father was 15 and his mother 10
One of the sons was named Jerusalem, and the eleven lived in a caravan (presumably a gipsy style one at this date).

(1881 Census, Freak’s Ground, District of Blaby, Leics.)

[GR2]

You should check the 1871 census to see what it says.

[osprey]

Think that shows that you need to look at more than one record for a family. 
Same family 1901, Naomi 6 years older than implied by 1881

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS4T-6LT

1851 for Moses, age nearer to the one given in 1901 than the one in 1881

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGFL-W5B

marriage sept qtr 1858 Moses Bennett Leicester vol 7a pg 280 with Naomi Hollands on the same
page

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2D7R-YPK
The other couple on the page would appear to be Moses's older brother and his wife.

[Ayashi]

Osprey beat me to it- 1901 age makes him older. Same for Naomi in her later censuses.

One of my ancestors gave a range of ages that made his date of birth anything between 1803 and 1821. I don't know if that was deliberate or that he really was that clueless about how old he actually was, although as far as I can tell his age at death was accurate!

I do have one ancestor who appears to have been around 15 when she married. I figured that out after the children just kept on coming...

[Davedrave]

Thanks. So the truth is rather more prosaic. At least the name Jerusalem was presumably real, and the caravan

[iluleah]

Census returns are secondary records, which means you can't trust that given/assumed information is true and certainly not one census record.......... you need to find primary records to prove information is real and ideally you need to find all and any record one person generated during their lifetime and cross reference the information on them.

My great grandmothers information on where she was born, when she was born ( age) was different on each record, her death cert makes her 10yr older than she really was and her grave stone too as it was given information from her daughter my gran so presumerably my gran was told by her ...the only way I found/proved her real age was to find her baptism record and was able then to apply for her birth cert...she married a man 25 yrs older than her so I presume she didn't want anyone knowing the huge age difference

[osprey]

I had a look for baptisms to the couple. I didn't find all of them but did find the one for Jerusalem 16 Sep 1872 in Walmsley, Warwickshire Moses noted as tinman.
Also
7 Sep 1863 Ibstock Fienca(?) Moses - gipsy
28 March 1875 St Andrew Leicester Isaiah Moses a hawker address Grange Lane
15 April 1877 Belgrave, Leicester Cornelius Moses a tinman

[osprey]

birth reg
Jerusalem Bennett sept qtr 1872 Penkridge vol 6b pg 452 mmn Holland

[osprey]

found the parish marriage
21 Sept 1858 St Mary Leicester
Moses Bennett 25 bach cutler Red Cross St father Tobias Bennett tinman
Naomi Hollands 22 spinster Red Cross St father Robert Hollands tinman
witnesses Reuben Bennett & Elizabeth Craythorn, all marked except Elizabeth

death reg Naomi Bennett 82 june qtr 1922 Billesdon vol 7a pg 24