Clarksville Presbyterian & how old did people marry?

Clarksville Presbyterian History

The church historian at Clarksville Presbyterian has preserved and made it’s long and rich history accessible. I recently visited there to meet with some of the church leaders and tour the inside of the church. I was able to listen to hymns played on the organ while I saw the newly restored multiple arched, gothic style ceiling and listened to the history of the stained glassed windows. The bright sun highlighted the vivid red and blue pieces of glass, sending colored rays of light to shine on the old, beautiful pews. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and discussion of the church’s history. Here is the church page on the Mecklenburg community website. To read the full history on the official church website:

One of Clarksville Presbyterian’s stain glassed windows

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Early Virginia Marriages

At what age did people typically marry in early Virginia? Many mistakes are made in published family trees and books saying that girls married as young as age 14, and men as young as 16 or 18. Many people seem to accept that as normal and fact, despite “being of age” (the age to marry without parental consent being required) was 21. Assuming young ages without documentation like this can lead to extra generations in trees and other mistakes in our trees. When I raised questions about if this was really common, people told me that lifespans were shorter, so people married younger. So how old were our ancestors really when they married?

Most early Virginia marriage records, including those that required consent from their parents to marry if underage, were burned during the civil war. This makes it challenging to know how old people who married before the civil war really were on their first marriage date, and leads to assumptions and mistakes. A marriage record study would help answer my questions, but I couldn’t find one that had been done for Virginia. I did my own marriage study, by reviewing family Bible records in local libraries and at the Library of Virginia. The records I included in my study had an exact birth date for the bride and groom and an exact marriage date, with the marriage occurring in Virginia. Additionally, I only looked at records for first marriages for both bride and groom. I looked through over 2,000 Bible records and found 100 marriages that met that criteria.

See this Virginia Marriage Study

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Works in Progress

• Adding people and sources to the Mecklenburg, Virginia tree, which is our community tree. Currently at Bluestone in the 1910 Census.
• Reading through deeds of old churches to write histories.

Please share!

Do you know anyone with Mecklenburg roots? Please share this website. Your memories are valuable to others! Commenting on this site will help preserve our history as a community.

Search the Mecklenburg, Virginia Community tree on FamilySearch. Names added weekly.