What age is "of age"?

[Kit]

If a couple got married and it doesn't mention any ages for the couple, nor that any permissions for underage marriage were given, what age is "of age"?

I'm looking at the early 1800's in case it changed over time.

[Merry]

Definitely 21. It changed to 18 in the 1960s I think (may have been 1950s).

[maggie_4_7]

It was lowered to 18 in the 1970s.

I would definitely say over 21.

[Merry]

It was lowered to 18 in the 1970s.



Thanks for that Maggie - you have just saved me from a long arguement in this house! lol

[maggie_4_7]

Well my memory may be a bit off but my very first vote was just after I turned 18, it was the referendum/vote on whether to come out of the EEC that Ted Heath's government had taken the country into without a referendum and I was born in 1956 and it had been lowered the year before I voted. It was 1974/75 under a Labour government led by Harold Wilson.

But I'm sure someone can confirm that or not.

[Kit]

So if someone married in 1813 they would have been born in 1792 or before?

[Caroline]

The first election when you could vote at 18 was in 1970. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1970

I remember it well as I was born in 1951 and eligible to vote, but couldn't as I was in Hong Kong where my father was stationed with the RN - he and my mother were allowed postal votes, and so were any dependants over 21, but they hadn't got themselves geared up for dependants of 18, 19 and 20 to have one so I missed out..

[ElizabethHerts]

I'm not quite sure the exact date that the coming of age thing changed, but I remember this:

My sister was born in 1949.
I was born in 1951.
She was very annoyed because we became of age on the same day -

http://www.lawreform.ie/publications/data/volume1/lrc_3.html

"Nine out of the eleven members of the Latey Committee concluded that the historical causes for fixing 21 years as the age of majority were not relevant to contemporary society, and they recommended that the age of majority be reduced to 18 years. (See Latey Report, paragraphs 518 and 519(1) at pp. 125 and 126.) This recommendation was accepted and on January 1, 1970, the age of majority was reduced from 21 to 18 years. (See Family Law Reform Act 1969, for England and Wales, the Age of Majority (Scotland) Act 1969, for Scotland, and the Age of Majority Act (NI) 1969, for Northern Ireland.)"

Ah yes, 1st January 1970
I was 18, she was 20.

[Kit]

Your poor sister. No longer able to hold the age card over you. lol

[ElizabethHerts]

Your poor sister. No longer able to hold the age card over you. lol

LOL! We get on pretty well, only a odd wobble, so she's never used "I'm older than you" since we were kids.

[Merry]

So if someone married in 1813 they would have been born in 1792 or before?

That's right as long as they were not lying about their ages!

Obviously full age can mean anything over 21 - my g-grandfather was 57 when he married for the first time and his cert says full age.

[Olde Crone]

Um, just to muddy the water a bit, I have seen marriages which do not state "of full age" and where (I know) the couples are minors, but there is no mention of permission having been gained, so it wouldn't be safe to assume an age from the lack of one on a marriage register!

OC

[Phoenix]

What we have no means of knowing is whether the church is crammed to bursting with bride's mother, groom's granny and every other gossip in the village. In those circumstances, the vicar might not bother to indicate that the bride was 15, with the entire church nodding approval.

If a shifty couple slid into the back pew for the banns, he might well be concerned to be sure it was with parental consent, in case he got into trouble.

[Olde Crone]

Phoenix

I entirely agree with that - in the case I mention, in the mid 1700s, the bride is 13, the groom is a few days either side of 15.

Banns were called, I have those, but no mention of permission being asked or granted. However, the father of the groom was church warden and local worthy and signed the marriage register as witness, so I am sure that permission was gained "on the nod" if not on paper!

(The happy couple produced the first of 15 children within 4 months of the marriage. The marriage lasted almost 60 years.)

OC

[maggie_4_7]

What I meant to say was 'off full age' would mean over 21 unless of course they lied which people did all the time.

There you go 1st Jan 1970 for lowering the coming of age to 18. :)

Of course I was only 14 then so couldn't vote until I was 18 which was 1974 :)

[Kit]

OC you could be right and she lied about her age, I suspect she did on the census. If I have the right bride she was from the parish church and I couldn't find a baptism around the year her census ages suggest, which is why I was checking if the age was 21 or lower to be of full age, as I need to check earlier.

[JBee]

I'd be wary of believing any age given as they didn't have birth certificates and were often unsure of their age.

I missed out on my Coming of Age - as I was slap bang in the middle - they reduced it to 18 shortly before I got to 21. boohoo