08-17-2017, 02:09 AM
(08-16-2017, 02:26 PM)Mystic Wanderer Wrote: In the hills of Appalachia, until more modern times, it was quite common for girls as young as 14 to get married. I think it was because of the hard times back then. Parents usually had lots of kids because of no birth control, so sending the girls off to let someone else take care as soon as they were old enough was a help to have enough food for the others.
But, you have to consider, back then children weren't allowed to be children, as we know them. They had to help with chores and help in the fields, scrub the clothes, and do everything the adults did. They grew up knowing how to take care of a house, and the family.
You put children of today in a marriage, I think there's going to be a big problem. By today's standards, this is just WRONG. Children this young just aren't ready for that kind of responsibility, and as it's already been said, Shame on the parents for allowing this!
One thing to consider was the lower life expectancy in that area at that time. Coal mines, infectious disease and other health factors meant that you might not live to see 45, so you had to get an early start to reproduce and raise some kids. Another factor was the high infant mortality rate at the time because of a lack of access to medical care. People had 10 or 15 kids, because MAYBE five would live to adulthood. They also needed help running a farm big enough to care for the family and feed them for an entire year, and the fact was kids were readily available when there was no money to pay outsiders to work. The problem then was when access to medical care became possible they didn't change their lifestyle right away, and they had all 15 or so kids living to adulthood! One of my previous neighbors had a LARGE extended family... both he and she had 13 other siblings apiece! Yep... 28 kids in one generation, all getting married and having other kids... talk about a population explosion!