what age is classed as Minor?

[kellysmith1976]

Hi all,
Ive just found a marriage record in 1839 And the Groom states he is Of full age. Bride is Minor..
by my working out she would be 19yrs old.... They were married in the march and their first child was born in June,..
The other strange thing.. well maybe its not that strange but the age difference between the two of them is 38yrs !!.. How common is this?.. I must admit i have a few age differences on my tree, but usually not more than 10 yrs!

[Mutley]

Full age was 21 years old.
A 38 year old age difference does seem quite a lot. Are you getting his age from census or parish records?

[Davran]

I don't know about the age difference, but certainly people were classed as minors until the age of 21 up until about 1970/71. I turned 21 in 1970 and I remember being a bit annoyed that I had had to wait until 21 to vote while others aged 18 could now vote as well!

[kellysmith1976]

Both.. I have him listed on the 1841 census, as 60 years old, With his wife aged 20, and their daughter aged 2 .... and i have his burial record from 1843 as a 64yr old man!...
very strange the huge Age difference?!?

[Mutley]

Well.... he probably enjoyed his last few years. ;)
Did he leave a will by any chance? It might be interesting, especially if he had a previous family.
Intriguing this family history hobby, one never knows what one is going find.

[kellysmith1976]

to be honest, i get so confused looking at the TNA site.. it never seems to find anything i type!..
His name was James Eatten, Born c1781 Kent, Died 1843 Strood, Rochester, Kent.. If anyone can find anything ill be very grateful!!
His wife was Mary Ann Matilda Rogers born 1819, Rochester, Kent.. James was buried 4th Jan 1843, She remarried in sept qtr 1843 a John Luchford, And frustratingly i have them in the 1851 census, But cannot find them after that, and i know Mary didnt die til 1892!.. They always lived in Kent..

[Geoffers]

to be honest, i get so confused looking at the TNA site.. it never seems to find anything i type!..
His name was James Eatten, Born c1781 Kent, Died 1843 Strood, Rochester, Kent.. If anyone can find anything ill be very grateful!!

What is it that you hope to find on TNA? Can we help to point you in the right direction there?

[kellysmith1976]

Anything.. I though that was the site for Wills?.. Muttley said about maybe him leaving a will?... Also the other thing im stuck on is... I have searched and searched through Ancestry for the census on Mary, But with a name like Luchford, there are so many spelling possibilites!..

[kellysmith1976]

The other thing i was going to ask about being a minor?... Would they have needed parental 'permission' to get married earlier than 21?