Genealogy Chat

Its not just the working class that didn't marry before children came along. The Gentry made a habit of not marrying until proof had been obtained that the woman would be able to provide an heir.

How interesting Marjorie - I didn't realise that they had to have permission from their employers! I had to laugh though as one of mine actually married his servant once he was widowed - I suppose that happened a lot though! Another 2 of my family hadn't married when they were in their 30's which I thought was odd but when I read the last column on the census - one was a cripple and one was an imbecile so that explained those two. The more you search the more you learn and you get quite obsessed with finding someone. It's almost like being a detective - I love the mystery unravelling as you dig deeper - no wonder it's so addictive! Debby

Marjorie That's really interesting reading. Think I'll print that off for future reference as I've come across a few Ag Labs in mine Lou

Lots of us on this site have ancestors who either never married at all, or only married after the birth of one or more children. In the course of my research I have come across several reasons which might explain this mystery. The first is obvious - they were already married to someone else. Another reason is: If they were apprentices, or Ag labs or a Servant of some sort, they had to get permission from their 'Master'. An Apprentice would almost certainly be refused permission and anyway would not earn enough to support a wife and family. An Ag lab, living with his parents and working for the man who owned the tied cottage, would also have to ask permission, which would be granted, or not, at the whim of the employer. Add to that, a junior aglab again wouldnt earn enough to support a family and would anyway have to wait for a cottage to fall vacant.Many 'country' families were quite happy to put up with their unmarried daughters and several children until the couple could marry.The cost of a Wedding licence was also a consideration. House, or Estate, Servants were frequently refused permission to marry - married servants werent as loyal as unmarried ones and would probably start being a nuisance by having babies and wanting promotion/more pay.Employers were quite ruthless about this, saw it as a waste of good training, the servants feelings were not to be considered. Finally, in my family, if no-one else's, where a small farm was involved, the 'Heir' to the Farm did not marry until SEVERAL local young women had borne him daughters - he married the first one to give him a son! Marjorie

See below in a minute.