Title: Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s | The Classroom
Headings: Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s
Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s
Marriage in the Colonies
The Civil War
After the War
Age of Consent

Content: Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s | The Classroom
Age of Marriage in the U.S. in the 1800s
Between 1800 and 1900, women generally married for the first time between the ages of 20 and 22. Less is known about the average age of first marriages for men during the 19th century. In 1890, when the U.S. Census Bureau started collecting marriage data, it was recorded that the average age of a first marriage for men was 26 years, and the average age of marriage for women was 22 years. Marriage in the Colonies
The average age of a women who married for the first time rose steadily, although not sharply, from 1800 to 1900. North American colonists tended to get married early due to several factors. The first, and perhaps most important, was simply that they could. Many took the advice of the Bible -- to leave home and create your own family -- to heart, and they had the resources to do it. Land was inexpensive, and there was plenty of it to choose from -- it was simple to set up shop. According to a 2010 article in the "Journal of Southern History" titled "The Effect of the Civil War on Southern Marriage Patterns," early colonists married at an average age of around 20 if they were women, and around 26 if they were men. The Civil War
With the end of the Civil War in 1865 came a "marriage squeeze" for women, especially in the South.