Legal Age of Marriage in 1838

[robsnicta]

Can someone tell me please at what age males and females could legally marry with parental consent in 1838? I have a found a marriage certificate for an ancestor or mine (Elizabeth Hinton) who was married in 1838. As she was born in 1826 this would have namde her 14 years of age and her groom 18 years old.

[Pam Downes]

From 1836 - 1928 the minimum legal age of marriage for males was 14, and 12 for females.
Do I presume that ages on the census agree with a birth year of 1826, as opposed to a baptismal year of 1826?
Pam

[Geoffers]

a marriage certificate for an ancestor or mine (Elizabeth Hinton) who was married in 1838. As she was born in 1826 this would have namde her 14 years of age.......

Unless my maths has detiorated I think that would have made her 12. The Law permitted marriage at this age with consent of parents.

How have you arrived at the birth year? - Bear in mind if from a census, this could be inaccurate; if from a baptism that this event took place after birth, sometimes several years after birth.

[robsnicta]

I have a parish record showing her death at the age of 38 in 1864, deduct 38 from 64 and that leaves you with a date of 1826 and yes sorry she was aged 12 in 1838.

[Geoffers]

I have a parish record showing her death at the age of 38 in 1864, deduct 38 from 64 and that leaves you with a date of 1826

Though of course the one person who would be able to say how old she was for the death registration would have been Elizabeth herself. Ages do need to be taken with a variable sized pinch of salt. Even if a couple of years out, she would still have been quite young.

[Guy Etchells]

Can someone tell me please at what age males and females could legally marry with parental consent in 1838? I have a found a marriage certificate for an ancestor or mine (Elizabeth Hinton) who was married in 1838. As she was born in 1826 this would have namde her 14 years of age and her groom 18 years old.

First in 1838 it made no difference whether there was parental consent or not that requirement was repealed in 1823 by Act of Parliament.

The second part is more complicated it depends on whether one considers ecclesiastical law or civil law to be what determines a legal standing.

Until 1929 in England & Wales there was a dispariety between ecclesiastical law and civil law.
Under ecclesiastical law a person could marry at any age they understood the implications of the ceremony. This enabled infants as young as 4 and 5 years old to marry.
Under civil law (in 1838) the minor had to attain the age of 14 for the groom and 12 for the bride, but there were many exceptions to this.
For example if the minor was an apprentice they could not marry if male under 24 or female under 21.

Family historians should note that in the past ecclesiastical law held more sway than civil law.
Cheers
Guy