Newman Virginia Roots

Early Virginia Marriage Age Study

1630-1830

We want to establish a better age calculation standard. Approximating age at the time of marriage is crucial in establishing relationship links and determining if a woman was of childbearing age when children attributed to her were born. Because there is so little data to work with we have to make many assumptions in this process. Few colonial records have survived, and most of those that have do not specify ages, although you might be able to infer some age ranges from some records. We want to discover what was normal in Virginia before 1830. We couldn’t find a Colonial Virginia marriage study, so we decide to do our own.

We used Virginia Family Bibles for this study. We chose the study to be 1630-1830 because that’s when we’re studying Newmans in Virginia.

The criteria for this study:

• Bride & groom were both born in Virginia
• The marriage occurred in Virginia 1630-1830
• This is a first marriage for both the bride and groom
• The birth day, month, and year are known for both the bride and groom
• The marriage day, month, and year are known

Data learned from marriage study

We were surprised that the earliest marriage that fit our criteria was 1711. Over 2,000 Bibles were ruled out because the bride or groom was born in Europe or the birth date was not listed for one of them. The majority of the Bibles only had either the bride or groom’s birth date but not both. We have more questions and want to expand our study. We want to include people born in Europe, and we also want to study marriages where only one spouse’s birth day was listed in the Bible record.

Data for 100 marriages in Virginia

Groom’s Name	Groom’s Birth Date	Groom’s Age	Marriage Date	Bride’s age	Bride’s Birth Date	Bride’s Name	County in Virginia associated with this family
1. Samuel Godwin	20 May 1687	24.08	19 Jun 1711	15.38	1 Feb 1696	Mary Lossey	Nansemond
2. John Taylor	18 Nov 1696	19.24	14 Feb 1716	19.18	8 Dec 1696	Catherine Pendleton	Essex & Caroline
3. John Norfleet	21 Jul 1699	27.85	28 May 1727	17.14	5 Apr 1710	Elizabeth Riddick	Nansemond
4. Samuel Griffin	1 Jan 1705	26.33	2 May 1731	16.40	6 Dec 1714	Elizabeth Rout	Northumberland
5. John Jones	13 Mar 1706	21.85	16 Jan 1728	19.71	2 May 1708	Ann Jones	Brunswick
6. Daniel Park Custis	15 Oct 1711	38.58	15 May 1750	18.95	2 Jun 1731	Martha Dandridge	Williamsburg
7. Robert Anderson	1 Jan 1712	27.50	3 Jul 1739	17.25	3 Apr 1722	Elizabeth Clough	Hanover
8. William Walthall	16 Aug 1714	25.31	6 Dec 1739	18.90	9 Jan 1721	Mary Bass	Chesterfield
9. Benjamin Waller	1 Oct 1716	29.25	2 Jan 1746	18.0	3 Jan 1728	Martha Hall	Williamsburg
10. Alexander Bolling	12 Mar 1721	24.78	23 Dec 1745	17.52	16 Jun 1728	Susanna Bell	Prince George
11. Richens Brame	2 Dec 1722	20.20	14 Feb 1743	18.67	13 Jun 1724	Susannah Chiles	Mecklenburg
12. James Madisin Sr	27 Mar 1723	26.46	11 Sep 1749	18.67	9 Jan 1731	Eleanore Conway	Orange
13. Fielding Lewis	7 Jul 1725	21.11	18 Oct 1746	22.52	11 Feb 1724	Catherine Washington	Fredericksburg
14. John Estes	27 Dec 1725	20.71	11 Sep 1746	20.45	30 Mar 1726	Mary Marshall	Caroline
15. Samuel Hawes	1 Feb 1727	24.38	20 Jun 1751	19.82	23 Aug 1731	Ann Walker	Caroline
16. William Bernard	6 Sep 1730	20.22	25 Nov 1750	21.17	23 Sep 1729	Winnifred Thornton	Stafford
17. James Harris	17 Jul 1733	23.95	30 Jun 1757	17.98	7 Jul 1739	Betty Phares	Albemarle
18. Muscoe Garnett	17 Aug 1736	30.89	9 Jul 1767	16.38	20 Feb 1751	Grace Fenton Mercer	Essex
19. Robert Smith	10 Jan 1738	22.15	5 Mar 1760	19.06	12 Feb 1741	Sarah Morris	Hanover
20. Gawin Corbin	15 Dec 1739	22.92	17 Nov 1762	18.60	12 Apr 1744	Joanna Tucker	Middlesex
21. Henry Tandy	6 Mar 1741	22.70	18 Nov 1763	21.34	18 Jul 1742	Ann Mills	Orange
22. William Fitzhugh	24 Aug 1741	21.60	2 Apr 1763	15.89	13 May 1747	Ann Bolling Randolph	Stafford
23. Mungo Roy	25 Mar 1742	24.10	29 Apr 1766	20.27	19 Jan 1746	Catherine Micou	Essex
24. Jacquelin Ambler	9 Aug 1742	21.79	24 May 1764	17.99	29 May 1746	Rebecca Burwell	York
25. Eleazer Clay	4 Aug 1744	22.88	21 Jun 1767	16.12	8 May 1751	Jane Apperson	Chesterfield
26. Mack Goode	12 Sep 1744	26.27	19 Dec 1770	17.18	14 Oct 1753	Mary Moseley	Charlotte
27. Thomas Clay	17 Jan 1745	25.26	24 Apr 1770	16.08	26 Mar 1754	Susannah Watkins	Cumberland
28. Joseph Terrell	28 Jan 1745	22.67	29 Sep 1767	20.67	26 Jan 1747	Elizabeth Mills	Hanover
29. John Webb	18 Jan 1747	25.09	20 Feb 1772	19.48	17 Aug 1752	Amy Booker	Essex
30. Robert Ware	3 Apr 1750	17.74	29 Dec 1767	17.15	5 Nov 1750	Peggy	Essex
31. Harris Tomlinson	12 Oct 1752	40.13	29 Nov 1792	22.94	22 Dec 1769	Winifred Crowder	Lunenburg
32. Edward Allen	23 Jun 1753	29.30	10 Oct 1782	23.69	31 Jan 1759	Elizabeth Reid	Nansemond
33. Micheal Yates	30 Jun 1753	22.83	29 Apr 1776	25.08	30 Mar 1751	Ann Estes	Caroline
34. Edmund Randolph	10 Aug 1753	23.05	29 Aug 1776	23.05	11 Aug 1753	Elizabeth Nicholas	Williamsburg
35. Daniel Jones	12 Feb 1754	19.56	3 Sep 1773	14.76	1 Dec 1758	Mary Burnett	Mecklenburg
36. David Crenshaw	16 Nov 1754	27.32	12 Mar 1782	18.32	16 Nov 1763	Elizabeth Hobson	Powhatan & Amelia
37. Robert Harrison	11 Feb 1755	22.17	12 Apr 1777	26.16	14 Feb 1751	Henrietta Maria Hardyman	Prince George
38. Joseph Helm	5 Oct 1755	23.72	24 Jun 1779	19.26	21 Mar 1760	Rebecca Larue	Frederick
39. John Marshall	24 Sep 1755	27.28	3 Jan 1783	16.80	18 Mar 1766	Mary “Polly” Willis Ambler	Richmond City & Henrico
40. John Cropper	23 Dec 1755	20.65	15 Aug 1776	21.34	12 Apr 1755	Margaret Pettit	Accomack
41. David Dickinson	29 May 1756	18.49	24 Nov 1774	18.07	29 Oct 1756	Ann	Caroline
42. Isaac Steer	6 Dec 1757	21.37	21 Apr 1779	22.09	20 Mar 1757	Phebe Hollingsworth	Frederick
43. John T. Sayers	19 Jul 1758	26.08	16 Aug 1784	19.88	29 Sep 1764	Susanna Crocket	Wythe
44. James Turner	7 May 1759	19.30	25 Aug 1778	16.59	20 Jan 1762	Sally Leftwich	Bedford
45. Charles Wortham	13 Jul 1759	22.45	24 Dec 1781	22.65	30 Apr 1759	Mary Jane Chandler	Caroline
46. John Meredith	31 Mar 1760	22.78	11 Jan 1783	20.44	4 Aug 1762	Ann Taylor	Hanover
47. Martin Holmes	11 Nov 1760	36.31	3 Mar 1797	17.65	10 Jul 1779	Julia Vernum	Augusta & Rockbridge
48. William Hume	3 Feb 1762	20.73	29 Oct 1782	18.20	17 Aug 1764	Sarah	Culpeper
49. Richard Payne	18 Jun 1763	26.71	4 Mar 1790	22.01	28 Feb 1768	Susanna Kelly	Westmorelnd
50. Samuel Hirschberger	23 May 1764	23.03	5 Jun 1787	24.33	4 Feb 1763	Anna Grafin	Shenandoah
51. Valentine Johnson	20 Jul 1765	26.55	7 Feb 1792	17.85	4 Apr 1774	Nancy Bennett	Orange
52. John Thompson	26 Jan 1766	25.62	11 Sep 1791	26.88	24 Oct 1764	Judith Wills	Amherst
53. David Barnett	29 May 1766	22.88	14 Apr 1789	22.79	29 Jun 1766	Mary Wallace	Botetourt
54. Henry Harris	12 Feb 1768	24.76	15 Nov 1792	23.11	6 Oct 1769	Mary Ferguson	Albemarle
55. Thomas Mann Randolph	1 Oct 1768	21.40	23 Feb 1790	17.41	27 Sep 1772	Martha Jefferson	Goochland & Albemarle
56. Roger Burrus	18 Apr 1769	20.74	14 Jan 1790	17.32	19 Sep 1772	Cynthia Mills	Orange
57. Daniel Duval	2 Feb 1770	21.83	2 Dec 1791	22.93	25 Dec 1768	Sally Carter	Caroline
58. Jacob Darden	24 Aug 1770	19.26	26 Nov 1789	20.97	8 Dec 1768	Martha Whitehead	Southampton
59. Thomas Johnson	6 Oct 1770	25.05	26 Oct 1795	17.32	17 May 1778	Sally Dickinson	Bedford
60. Richard Boyd	16 Oct 1771	28.10	22 Nov 1799	18.02	13 Nov 1781	Panthea Burwell	Mecklenburg
61. Samuel Moorman	8 Jan 1772	24.15	2 Mar 1796	21.93	27 Mar 1774	Judith Clark	Campbell
62. Benjamin Parsons	9 Mar 1772	18.75	20 Dec 1790	16.09	9 Mar 1772	Sarah Burton	Pittsylvania
63. James Lindsey	18 Sep 1776	33.76	28 Jan 1807	21.93	26 Apr 1786	Sallie Barry	Frederick
64. Gabriel Penn	14 Nov 1773	23.23	6 Feb 1797	17.07	14 Jan 1780	Jane Clark	Patrick
65. John Cobbs	4 Mar 1774	28.99	1 Mar 1803	24.01	24 Feb 1779	Martha R. Hunt	Halifax
66. William Garrett	30 Jun 1774	24.11	10 Aug 1798	21.91	11 Sep 1776	Tilishe	King & Queen & Hanover
67. William Quarles	12 May 1775	26.50	12 Nov 1801	19.91	15 Dec 1781	Betsey E. Reynolds	King William
68. James Barbour	10 Jun 1775	20.36	20 Oct 1795	19.89	29 Nov 1775	Lucy Maria Johnson	Orange
69. John Hopkins	6 Oct 1775	24.91	2 Sep 1800	21.02	25 Aug 1779	Polly Turner	Bedford
70. Archibald Walters	7 Mar 1776	19.61	18 Oct 1795	19.03	5 Oct 1776	Catherine Stamps	Pittsylvania
71. John Lyell	27 Apr 1776	20.62	9 Dec 1796	18.25	10 Sep 1778	Lucy Sandford	Westmoreland
72. Joel Henry	20 Jul 1776	20.42	22 Dec 1796	23.06	29 Nov 1773	Susan Allen	Fauquier
73. James J. White	6 Nov 1776	22.14	26 Dec 1798	17.19	18 Oct 1781	Elizabeth Green	Caroline
74. Rueben Garnett	9 Dec 1777	35.04	23 Dec 1812	21.70	11 Apr 1791	Nancy Pendleton	King & Queen
75. Robert McCutchan	22 Apr 1778	20.89	14 Mar 1799	23.56	20 Aug 1775	Mary McKnight	Augusta
76. David Meade	22 Dec 1778	19.15	13 Feb 1798	15.23	20 Nov 1782	Nancy Wray Stith	Brunswick
77. David Hall	30 May 1780	22.67	2 Feb 1803	20.00	2 Feb 1783	Elizabeth Pate	Montgomery
78. David Carson	28 Aug 1780	19.08	26 Sep 1799	16.13	10 Aug 1783	Cynthia Meek	Washington
79. Obadiah Ponton	21 Jun 1781	22.57	16 Jan 1804	16.52	9 Jul 1787	Sarah Jane Fortune	Amherst & Nelson
80. Robert Easley	23 Mar 1781	18.61	31 Oct 1799	15.98	6 Nov 1783	Nancy Stone	Halifax
81. John Markle	25 Nov 1784	27.02	5 Dec 1811	17.52	27 May 1794	Harriet Bruer	Bedford
82. George W. Baylor	5 Jan 1785	22.90	3 Dec 1807	18.12	19 Oct 1789	Betsy Timberlake	Caroline
83. Robert G. Haile	7 Jul 1787	23.72	28 Mar 1811	21.58	27 Aug 1789	Matilda J. Wright	Essex
84. John C. Phillips	16 Jan 1789	27.38	6 June 1816	18.40	9 Jan 1798	Sally Ann	Mecklenburg
85. John C. Cohoon	26 Dec 1789	23.43	1 Jun 1813	20.50	28 Nov 1792	Louisa Everitte	Suffolk
86. William Sherer	19 Nov 1790	22.26	23 Feb 1813	19.76	20 May 1793	Martha Minter	Essex & Gloucester
87. Edward P. Williams	31 Jul 1794	24.34	3 Dec 1818	16.93	30 Dec 1801	Pheobe M. White	Pittsylvania
88. Ira Ellis Lipscomb	16 Nov 1794	22.03	28 Nov 1816	19.05	8 Nov 1797	Mary Nelson	Spotsylvania & Louisa
89. Freeman Walker	16 Jan 1795	24.97	6 Jan 1820	26.95	22 Jan 1793	Mary AB Manson	Brunswick
90. Benjamin Landreth	7 May 1796	18.72	26 Jan 1815	18.28	16 Oct 1796	Nancy Taylor	Patrick
91. Henry Hardy	10 Feb 1797	24.93	17 Jan 1822	16.40	25 Aug 1805	Rachel Beazley	Grayson
92. John F. Hawkins	24 Apr 1797	27.14	15 Jun 1824	17.57	21 Nov 1806	Lucinda Ann Campbell	Bedford
93. James E. Claytor	10 Jul 1798	22.54	25 Jan 1821	17.52	20 Jul 1803	Narcissa Fuqua	Bedford
94. William S. Croxton	26 Feb 1799	26.41	28 Jul 1825	23.37	14 Mar 1802	Margery E. Lockland	Essex
95. William Blanton	16 Apr 1799	20.93	20 Mar 1820	16.49	24 Sep 1803	Elizabeth Gilly	Lee
96. Abraham Tucker	11 Jan 1800	23.20	27 Mar 1823	23.37	10 Nov 1801	Jane G. Perkins	Dinwiddie & Prince George
97. Seth Halsey	13 Dec 1800	29.55	3 Jul 1830	20.30	16 Mar 1810	Julia D. B. Peters	Goochland & Bedford
98. David Crawfod Jones	15 Nov 1802	24.15	10 Jan 1827	16.11	2 Dec 1810	Eliza Ann Walton	Buckingham & Appomattox
99. Winston Purvis	13 Sep 1803	26.28	23 Dec 1829	24.51	20 Jun 1805	Catherine P. Gregory	Lynchburg & Nelson
100. Leonard Bell Nottingham	17 May 1805	22.51	21 Nov 1827	18.90	26 Dec 1808	Emeline Waddy	Northampton

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Photo credits, top pf the page: 1) posy rings, from wikimedia commons. Posy rings were given as engagement and wedding rings in the middle ages through 1800’s. 2) Martha Newman’s 1821 marriage bond. (Julie’s ancestor) 3) Vaughter’s church in Essex VA, photo by Aaron Cabitto, 2020. Thomas Newman & Elizabeth Vaughter were married at this church in 1747. This church was built 1730’s.