Age at which one could marry without parent’s permission?

Question

Is there a free resource on the Web which tells you how old a person had to be (for different countries/states during different time periods) to get married without parental consent?  I am able to find current information, but not historical information.

Thanks and sincerely,

Answer 1

Age of consent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent

Marriageable age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageable_age

Comments

The Dutch page is a good read

Free translation: With the reform of 1838 it was decided that women no longer could marry at 15, but had to be 16 years old. Reason given: women in the Netherlands do not develop fast enough...

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Hello Marion,

Thank you.  I'm interested in marriageable age in the U.S.  For example in Alabama in 1884, how old did you have to be to get married without your parent's permission?  Or in Virginia in 1934, how old did you have to be to get married without your parent's permission?

I'm not seeing where it answers the above at 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageable_age

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On that Marriageable Age Wikipedia page it says under the Americas - Scroll down in the chart to the United States -

21 years old for females and 21 years old for females (1776-1971) _____________ 18 in most states
19 in Nebraska
21 in Mississippi (since 1971)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriageable_age#Americas

So your answer is 21 for (I assume males and females) up until 1971 and then it dropped down to age 18 in 1971 for most states.

Oops looks like a spelling error - 21 for females AND for 21 females?  Should one of those be Males?

Answer 2

In England, the age of marriage without parental consent (often written as "Full Age" on marriage certificates)  was 21.

It is very frustrating to read FULL AGE instead of an actual age on a marriage certificate because it only indicates the the person getting marired was aged 21 or older.

Or at least they claimed to be "of full age" Lots of young men and women LIED about their ages....

Comments

Having recently read several marriage applications/declarations just like this I have to agree that they are frustrating.