1911 census

[Merry]

Not needed for BK6

Does anyone have any family members who were alive in 1911 and had been married more than 61 years?

I just noticed that you cannot enter a marriage year of before 1850 in the search criteria! Does that mean there are no examples of longer marriages at this date? I think that's highly unlikely.

[Phoenix]

Perhaps it's not so much that they may have been married that long, but whether they can remember that far back!

[kiterunner]

I can't think of any in my tree. My 3xg-grandmother Sarah Sewell was still alive, age 87, and she did get married in 1849, but her husband had died in 1891 so even if she filled in the "years married" box it would only say 42 years. I haven't actually viewed the image, so I don't know if she did fill it in.

[Mary from Italy]

Best I can do is a marriage in 1852. Both still alive in 1911.

[kiterunner]

I suppose you could Google or search the Times for people who celebrated their diamond wedding in 1909 and look them up if you really want to find out what it does. I did try but I kept finding couples from the USA and Australia!

[JayG]

The longest marriage i've got that i've viewed the image for is my 3x great grandparents married in 1853 & married 57 years at the time of the census.

[samesizedfeet]

Does the year of marriage criteria even work?

I have just searched for one Habakkuk Bartram, who is mistranscribed as Bratram, to see what I got. I removed most of the search criteria and searched for names starting with H, place of birth Dickleburgh and year of marriage 1850 (exact).

The list of results includes 5 people who weren't even born in 1850.

[Merry]

That's odd, I have used it to help find people several times. I wouldn't have known it didn't like a date pre-1850 except that I put someones dob in the wrong box!

[Nell]

I read recently that the average length of a Victorian marriage was 11 years.

[Stella]

Really Nell, wonder why?

[Uncle John]

Really Nell, wonder why?

In the early 1900s the average lifespan for a man was 45 and a woman 49, which sort of sets the scene.

[Merry]

But what was the average life expectancy for a person who was married? Do those figures include infant mortality?

By how much did a woman's life expectancy drop when she married?

I think the longest marriage on my tree is 68 years, but this couple were both dead before 1911.

[Uncle John]

You could get a job at the ONS!

[Merry]

lol!! ;(

[Tom Tom]

The longest marriage I have in my tree is 70-years and not out. The couple married in 1939 and are both in their 90s (and both nearly 100 now).

Don't think I have anyone in my tree who had been married for a long time in 1911.

[Nell]

Usually one or other partner in a Victorian marriage died by 11 years. Of course this is an average, but its true in my family tree that many of the women died of childbirth-related incidents in their 20s, 30s, 40s.

[Merry]

Usually one or other partner in a Victorian marriage died by 11 years. Of course this is an average, but its true in my family tree that many of the women died of childbirth-related incidents in their 20s, 30s, 40s.

One man on my tree managed four marriages each one less than two years and I think three of them were less than a year - all the wives died in childbirth. His fifth, childless, marriage lasted about 30 years.

I've just looked at the statistics for my direct line (all marriages ended with the death of one party, rather than divorce):

Parents 8 years

Grandparents 46 years
Grandparents 48 years

G-grandparents 42 years
G-grandparents 47 years
G-grandparents 44 years
G-grandparents 29 years


G-g-grandparents 24 years
G-g-grandparents 48 years
G-g-grandparents 31 years
G-g-grandparents 61 years
G-g-grandparents 54 years
G-g-grandparents 22 years
G-g-grandparents 36 years
G-g-grandparents 19 years

that will do! We seem to be mainly bucking the trend :)

[kiterunner]

I don't think there would be much point me doing one of those, because so many of the marriages in my tree ended with separation!

[JayG]

That's interesting Merry, something i've never looked at before. You've just found me my next job ;), checking the papers for some of the of the longer marriages & hopefully find some write ups :D

This is my directline, all ended due to the death of partner

Parents currently 33 years

Grandparents 40 years
Grandparents 25 years

G Grandparents 42 years
G Grandparents 31 years
G Grandparents 20 years
G Grandparents 9 months (killed WW1)

GG Grandparents 56 years
GG Grandparents 51 years
GG Grandparents 32 years
GG Grandparents 27 years
GG Grandparents 23 years
GG Grandparents 14 years
GG Grandparents 13 years
GG Grandparents 11 years