Genealogy Chat

Did full age on a marraige certificate me they were over 21, because going by a later census I only make the said person 16, how can this be Margaret

I have had this on cert I can't answer why but I had a marriage cert last week which said they were both minor age, when I looked up the births one wasn't. I suppose like the census returns they are still liable for mistakes.

Full age, I'm sure did mean over 21. My great great Grandmothers marriage certificate states" Minor with consent of father," and she was 18, and her husband has age as" full "and he was 31.Dont take any information on face value.There are many mistakes. I have 4 different ages for my great grandfather on various documents as much as 7 years difference. Hope this is of some help. Sheila.

Hi margaret, I have a marriage certificate that states the groom of full age (he was 20 at the time) and the bride is down as under age (she was 17 at the time) I always thought full age was 21 anything under that you were a minor and had to have the parents consent. many people often lied about their true age. On another certificate i have both ages are given as 21 but the bride was in fact 18. Hope this helps Michele

I think this one has come up on the board before and depending on the era, full age can be anything from 14 to 21.

Also don't forget they did not need to show their birth certs like we do now so they could lie about age or simply forget how old they were.My paternal great grandfather was 38 on the 1901 census and still 38 when he married a young lady 3 years later.....Obviously didn't want to admit to being forty for his young wife. Just because they were official documents doesn't mean that they were entirely accurate..... KIM

We have had this before. It usually meant over 21 but sometimes meant "of legal age"(as low as 12). Also remember that the 21 consent rule does not apply in Scotland ( hence the Gretna Green runaways) Bob