Married at Fifty (Now Completed)

[Plummiegirl]

My g/aunt who was a confirmed spinster suddenly upped and married age 71!!!  She and her husband (she was his 3rd wife) were happily married for about 15 years until he died.  Then sadly she died 18 months ago  age 93.  And I was informed by her close friend that they had had an active 'life'.  She was not returned unopened!!!! 

Her sister also married for the first time in her early 50's and was happily married for nearly 40 years until the death of her husband and she died about 3 years ago also age 93.


Nothing now shocks me

[Galium]

One of my GGgrandmothers remarried aged 51 to a man 12 years younger.  He was a bachelor, so I would have to suppose that he was not hoping for children.

His younger brother married GGgrandmother's daughter - so her mother was also her sister in law.

[snaptoo]

Within my lifetime, my mother's first cousin married for the first time at the age of 68

[Ewan]

I don't know what sort of year some of your experiences refer to, but I  think that nowadays and for some considerable time people have been marrying a lot later in life for whatever reason.  Someone in my family is marrying again this year after being widowed ten years ago and they will be aged 57.

Pinefamily I wasn't necessary referring to the bride marrying for the first time, as I don't know as yet whether this bride had been married before, but that is really interesting to know of one at 73.

Good idea sillgen about children being born, unfortunately this family history is from the Isle of Man.  I did look to see if there were any births that may have fitted the bill, there wasn't any but then the bmds online from the Isle of Man are not so extensive and full as freebmd.

Quite right Sloe Gin, you can't always go on what it says on certificates and censuses, but hopefully there may be a glimmer of a clue from the certificate.

As mentioned I think I may know who the bride is so it is now a case of sending off for the certificate to see if it can confirm my theory.

Many thanks for your contributions.
Ewan
 

[Sloe Gin]

Quite right Sloe Gin, you can't always go on what it says on certificates and censuses, but hopefully there may be a glimmer of a clue from the certificate.

As mentioned I think I may know who the bride is so it is now a case of sending off for the certificate to see if it can confirm my theory.

All I meant was don't rule it out if it doesn't say exactly what you think it should, eg the spinster v widow thing.  There are mistakes as well as fibs!  Good luck with it and I hope it's the right result.

I don't know what sort of year some of your experiences refer to, but I  think that nowadays and for some considerable time people have been marrying a lot later in life for whatever reason.  Someone in my family is marrying again this year after being widowed ten years ago and they will be aged 57.

I would say that's always been fairly normal - children aside, people marry for much the same reasons they always have:  companionship, security, money  and even love   

[bykerlads]

There was an old Simon and Garfunkel song which went.."let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together.."
I think marriage was/is often a pooling of resources:
I have many family examples in the 17/1800's of widows + widowers marrying very soon after the death of a spouse, simply ( one assumes) to provide necessary services and financial support for famillies.
In 1913, my widowed grtgrandmother married a local batchelor 12 years her junior. Presumably he needed a lady to keep house for him and she needed housing and food for her children. Tongues would have "wagged" if she had simply moved in with him as Housekeeper- to be his wife was much more "respectable".
No idea if it was a love-match, but certainly it would have been a mutually beneficial arrangement.

[Ewan]

Thanks again for the suggestions Sloe Gin, to be honest I don't know what the details should say, only perhaps the bride was in her early fifties.  I am hoping to trace her dad on censuses and then that will be the clue I hope, we will see and I will let you know the outcome.

I ask this because I have found what is the possibility of the marriage of a live in partner of my great granddad whose death was in 1910 and this marriage in 1916 to another man.
Ewan

Long before my great granddad died, living with his partner (of whom I believe this marriage is of) did certainly start tongues wagging,  it was certainly mentioned in the local press at the time.  I have never found a marriage for them so they obviously just got on with it and did not worry about marrying, although the young lady in question did state his name on the census after he died and also on the death certificate.

Ewan

[GrahamSimons]

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

I've learned not to be surprised: my ggg grandfather was 49 when he married; ggg grandmother was just 13, as was legal in those days - 1779 in Scotland. I don't think today's society would accept this as being the right thing to do!

[pinefamily]

Graham,
That's probably the start of another thread. 
Applying today's standards and morals to what we find is fraught with danger.

Darren