Quiz about the History of English and Welsh marriages - Genealogists' Forum

Merry · #1 28-10-12, 08:15

This quiz comes recommended by Lost Cousins:

Marriage laws and practices quiz

a few of the answers came as a surprise to me!

Olde Crone · #2 28-10-12, 08:51

And me, I only got 6/15! I did feel some of the questions were trick questions in the way they were worded.

For example, Jews and Quakers have always been able to conduct and record their own marriages. As these are not ecclesiastical, i.e. church of England, then they must surely be civil marriages?

And the "marriage under 21" question. "There haave always been ways to marry without parental consent under 21". Well, yes, but those ways weren't the NORM, they were exceptions which wouldn't apply to the vast majority.

OC

Merry · #3 28-10-12, 09:06

I thought the Q about the average age of marriage was a bit misleading. The answer was:

(The average age) was just over 24 for women at this time. The average age at marriage was in fact lower in the mid-twentieth century than it was in the mid-nineteenth.

Do they really mean average?? Or do they mean the most likely age to marry for the first time?

kiterunner · #4 28-10-12, 09:10

This question makes no sense!

"Comparing your ancestors’ marriage certificate to the census entry from the same year, you discover that they clearly married in a parish to which neither belonged."

Firstly, the census just shows where they were on census night, not where they "belonged"; secondly, unless they got married within 3 weeks of census night (if they married by banns), how do you know they didn't move house from one parish to another between census night and the wedding?

Also, a lot of the questions don't have the answer I want to give as a choice!

ElizabethHerts · #5 28-10-12, 09:15

I got 6/15. I found some of the questions poorly worded, and I agree with Kate about the proffered answers.

kiterunner · #6 28-10-12, 09:51

I think they should have put "1837" (instead of 1836) as a possible answer to the question about when the first civil marriage took place, as many people would be likely to choose that one. (I knew it was around 1653 because I was recently transcribing some marriages from that period for FreeREG.)

Phoenix · #7 28-10-12, 09:52

I got 9/15, but would be arguing firmly for a recount!

I didn't reckon I'd FIND Catholic marriages because I wasn't convinced they would survive.

And belonging to a place is not the same as living there. Still, and interesting quiz.

kiterunner · #8 28-10-12, 09:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix

I didn't reckon I'd FIND Catholic marriages because I wasn't convinced they would survive.

Yes, same here.

Merry · #9 28-10-12, 10:01

I did better on the poorly worded questions! Probably the way my brain works! lol

I got two wrong the first time I did it and a different two wrong when I had another go this morning!!!

Olde Crone · #10 28-10-12, 10:35

Yes, I was of the opinion that I wouldn't find RC marriages even if they HAD been recorded.

OC