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? >> >>To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions >>at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html