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Unhelpful Marriage certificates

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Keith

Keith Report 26 Feb 2009 08:53

I've had 3 mid 19th century marriage certificates from GRO recently which don't give all the details, e.g. in the age column it says "FULL" Am I correct in thinking that this term means ABOVE THE AGE OF CONSENT?
Also I have an 1895 marriage certificate & in the age column it says 21 years for both people, I know that the couple are above that age, is this for the same reason, above consentual age?
Both these examples do nothing to help in establishing D.O.B
Keith

Pam

Pam Report 26 Feb 2009 10:44

I have a marriage certificate which says "FULL" and the bride was only 17.
Her parents appear not to have attended the marriage but both his parents are mentioned !!

Researching:
Middlesex, Berkshire and Somerset

Heather

Heather Report 26 Feb 2009 10:56

Keith - but you will have their fathers names and the names of the witnesses etc. - does that not help you find these people?

Keith

Keith Report 26 Feb 2009 11:30

Thanks for all you comments, I'm still new to this & needed confirmation that my presumptions were correct.

Chhers, Keith

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 26 Feb 2009 11:44

This was common practice at the time.

You need to corroborate with other evidence, such as census returns to get a more accurate estimate of the persons age. Even this can be fraught and I have several wher the age has varied by up to four years over the censuses.

If the age varies a lot, try to find the earliest census for the person - this is most likely to be the most accurate.