One Hundred Years of Marriages in Massachusetts

The nature of remarriages in the United States has changed, and their relative number varies significantly with time and place. Allowances should also be made for nationality composition and migratory marriages. Percentagewise, marriages have not become earlier in Massachusetts. The crude average age at first marriage has gone up, fluctuating most in recent years. However, a refined method of calculation (limited to census years) produces a contradictory result and suggests a possible decline since 1900. All in all, the custom of "early" and extensive marriage seems to have altered little during the century.