too old?

[kylejustin]

i have the birth of johannes wallis in 1667 empingham, rutland. father gulielmus.

marriage of gulielmus wallis to elizabetha merrill, widow 1666, empingham.
marriage of johannes merrill to elizabetha carby 1665, empingham.

death of elizabetha wallis 1697, wife of gulielmus. he dies 1707 "senex" (aged).

the only birth in rutland isn't in the 1640's as expected (registers intact during civil war years) but in 1627, dau of robert carby. this makes her 38 and 39 at marriages, 40 at birth of first child, last child b.1675, so 47 at last birth. and 70 at death (no issue there).

i don't have any issues with her being 70 at death, but just is this the right birth? i feel 40 is too old for marriages and first children? there doesn't seem to be a birth for him in rutland either. so i don't know exactly or even roughly how old gulielmus/william is.

thoughts?

[Guest]

My nan who lived to be almost 100 had her last child at 45, and that one is the only surviving sibling of my Father who was born in 1921, so I suppose its possible.

[Olde Crone Holden]

My 2 x ggm married for the first time at age 39 and then had a child every year until she was 46. My eldest daughter had her first child at 40, next one at 42.

OC

[kylejustin]

So would you accept the baptism as hers? I understand in the last hundres years or so starting your family in your 40's, but 17th century that is positively ancient.

[Guest]

must say it does seem old for a woman of those days, as they certainly did not live too long then.
You put my tree to shame getting back so far :(

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Can you find a death for the possible father, Robert Carby? It may be that
1)she remained at home to care for the father and on his demise, needed a protector
2)she inherited property/money after his death and so became a very attractive marriageable proposition

Jay