In the 1940's, was it legal to marry at 12 yrs old?

Question

My parents always told me our neigbor married his wife when she was 12. He was 30 yrs old. I never believed them until I was at the cementary the other day and read their tombstone. He did marry her when she was 12. I could not believe it. but its true. They had children together. Wouldnt this have been illegal back then? Could you marry today at 12 if your parents consent?

Answer 1

Back then people died in their 50's, so it was common to marry right at puberty and start having children. Society has come a long way since then and we now understand how psychologically damaging that is to a young female brain. People also live a lot longer now due to medical technology. It's society and culture that makes something "right" or "wrong" not the deed itself.

Answer 2

Life expectancy wasn't what it is today. It was believed that as soon as a young girl had her menstrual cycle and could get pregnant then she was ready for marriage and being a mother. Economics often motivated the rush of marrying a daughter young. It was often beneficial to her family. Either by taking the financial burden off of them or bringing assets into the family. This was especially true in places like West Virginia. Laws prohibiting that occurred much later and science and psychological advancement was later able to determine the development of the brain of one so young. Thus laws could be established prohibiting relationships with minors. Today it is widely known that minors as old as 16 still are developing in the their brain. It is the reason why it is often difficult to reason with one this age when they are in a heightened state of emotion. When their emotions run high they literally are having a disconnect with one side of their brain to the other. Many states prohibit the marriages of ones so young with consent laws.

Answer 3

i don't think that they had a set age limit of marriage back then. my great grandma got married when she was 13 and that was in the late 1930's. the laws have changed a lot since then tho. in most states you can't get married until your 18 even with parents consent but i have heard of a couple states that you can get married at 16 with parents consent :)