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"Of full age" - Irish marriage certificate

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  • "Of full age" - Irish marriage certificate

    Hi,

    I have been researching my family tree recently I am often coming across old Irish marriage certificates where the term "Of full age" is used instead of giving a precise age. I tried to Google this and found a number of conflicting answers. The most obvious answer is that the term was used to describe the age of anyone aged twenty one or over at the time of marriage, but some other have suggested that registrars often used the term for anyone marrying with the consent of their parents, even if they were younger than twenty one at the time. Can anyone tell me if this is indeed the case?

    Thanks!
    Peter

  • #2
    I don't have any Irish decendants but I think the same as you that anyone over the age of 21.

    However, it could be the age that was given to the vicar/priest rather that the age they were!!
    Lin

    Searching Lowe, Everitt, Hurt and Dunns in Nottingham

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    • #3
      Of full age means just that and I doubt it would be used to signify pare tal consent.

      I don't have any Irish documents but I do have Manx ancestors and my 3x ggm married "with the consent of her friends" (She was an orphan aged 17).

      OC

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      • #4
        People have always stretched the truth! They didn't have to provide proof of age.
        Anne

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        • #5
          Conversely, I also have couples who married without the consent of parents even though they were under 21. The church was happy to overrule parental disapproval in the case of pregnancy! This would not apply to register office weddings of course.

          OC

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          • #6
            Full age just meant 21 and over. All information then was taken on trust (with the apparent legal understanding that the public had the usual methods of objecting to a marriage which might not be valid). If the couple said they were 20 when they weren’t, then unless challenged, that would be taken on trust. And it would still be a valid marriage even if they fibbed about their ages.

            If anyone did raise an objection to a marriage under 21 in Ireland, then the couple sometimes legged it to Scotland where the legal age to marry without parental consent was (and still is) 16. The Portpatrick marriage registers are full of eloping Irish couples. (Portpatrick is where the Scottish ferry went until the 1860s).
            Elwyn

            I am based in Co. Antrim and undertake research in Northern Ireland. Please feel free to contact me for help or advice via PM.

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            • #7
              Thanks for the replies everybody, much appreciated. So I guess the take away from this is that you can't tell a lot from the age on an old marriage certificate.

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