Actually, marriage laws going back to at least 1696 said girls between
the ages of 12 and 16 could marry ONLY WITH permission of the parent or
guardian. The law was passed to address a perceived problem, but its
enactment did not indicate that twelve was a "normal" age for girls to
marry, in fact just the opposite. The title of the 1696 law suggests its
true intent, "An act for prevention of clandestine Marriages." The
preamble reads: "Whereas many great and grievous mischeifes have arisen
and dayly doe arise by clandestine and secret marriages to the utter
ruin of may heirs and heiresses and to the great grief of all their
relations, and whereas the lawes now in force for the prevention of such
marriage do inflict too small a punishment for so heinous and great an
offence, Bee it enacted . . ." (3 Hening 148-151). The law singled out
very young girls (presumably aimed at girls from propertied families)
for the purpose of preventing their inheritances from passing into the
hands of a husband whom her family did not approve. Her right of
inheritance was restored upon the death of the "non-approved" husband.
Linda H. Rowe
Historical Research
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
757-220-7443
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ronald Whitaker
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 1:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Minimum marriage age
Oh, and was this the same legal mentality which allowed chilren to be
placed in our sweat shops?..... Ron
Barbara Vines Little wrote:
> Yes, if she has the consent of her guardian.
> See Henry St. George Tucker, _Commentaries on the Laws of Virginia . .
._,
> 1846, p. 94-5.
>
> Barbara
>
> Barbara Vines Little, CG
> PO Box 1273
> Orange, VA 22960
> phone: 540-832-3473 (evenings)
> fax: 540-832-5057
> [log in to unmask]
>
> CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of
> Genealogists(r), used under license by board-certified associates who
meet
> genealogical competency standards prescribed for those programs.
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael M. Foreman" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 11:27 PM
> Subject: [VA-HIST] Minimum marriage age
>
>
>
>>Would a female, age 12, been allowed to marry in Virginia in 1838?
>>
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