Obituaries for a relative and her husband indicate they were married in August of 1920. Their first child was born in May of 1922–according to the birth certificate (which I’m inclined to think is right) and a host of other records. The couple’s marriage record was not found among their effects. There is no family bible where the date was written down.
The obituary references to their date of marriage, which consistent, provide secondary information.
There is the marriage record which indicated that they were married in December of 1921. It’s pretty clear that date is the intended one on the record. It’s recorded among other records for that same month and the couple’s names, along with the names of their parents, are correct. The marriage record provides direct, primary information about the marriage date.
It seems like the discrepancy is simply to make the first child born well more than nine months after the parents married. The relative (the female) would have still been fifteen had she married in August of 1920. She would have been nearing her 17th birthday upon her marriage in December of 1921 making things just a little more plausible. Based on her correct marriage date, she would have been 16 and still in need of parental consent to marry, but at a more palatable age than 15.
Relatives are insistent upon the August of 1920 marriage date despite the evidence that it is not right. All I can do is cite the information I have obtained, transcribe it accurately, and place it in my database.
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