As an Australian, back in the day, was it unusual for men to marry much older women?

As far as I understand how things were back then it was unusual. It would really be interesting to know the circumstances. It was unusual too for a woman to marry at 30yrs. Back then in most cases she would have married by 18-20.

Life expectancy in 1812 was about 40yrs for women. Back then men lived longer than women because of the dangers of childbirth. Of course there were people who lived to a ripe old age as well.

@ Jay. Good for her! What a woman! My info came from statistics I had read. 40 yrs was the average, which I thought was a bit low, but that is what it said. My great grand parents lived way past that too and in Ireland during the famine with a herd of kids.

Looks like the TDer mole is back, so I am giving everyone a TU

i've got faith adult men have become bored stiff with the perception of youthful, immature women folk that existence (and adult men!) owe them each little thing they want. maximum of those ladies-in-women folk's-bodies have never carried out something, never supported themselves, are self-based and grasping, and contribute little to not something to the enjoyed ones and kin. adult men choose a woman who is conscious what actual existence is, how confusing it particularly is, and that sacrifice is needed. Why might desire to a helpful, hardworking guy submit with some infantile, whiny little lady whilst he could have a existence-examined lady who would be his significant different and helpmate...and who is conscious what she needs? Oh...and older, constructive, helpful women folk are astounding fans, regularly. :)

I was always under the impression men always married younger women, my wife is 6 years younger than me. My mother was younger than dad and grandfather was older than grandmother on both sides.

Some of our 'rellies' and friends never married, they became 'old maids' because they were forced to look after their mothers into old age.

Was your greatX4 grandmother a young widow? Many women in those days lost their husbands to illness and injury at an early age.

They were forced to look for another husband to keep them and any children they had because it was either that or the poor-house/work-house for the destitute. No Social Security payments for single parents in those days.

That may explain why your great grandma was so "old" for those days when she married your great grandpa.

This info below is for Britain but I'm sure it would be reasonably similar here.

LIfe Expectancy in Victorian Britain.

A baby born in a large town with a population of more than 100,000 in the 1820s might expect to live to 35 - in the 1830s, life expectancy was down to a miserable 29.

A comparison between a desperately unhealthy large town and a small market town shows the costs of migrating in search of work and prosperity. In 1851, a boy born in inner Liverpool had a life expectancy of only 26 years, compared with a boy born in the small market town of Okehampton, who could expect to live to 57.

Average Age of Marriage in Victorian Britain.

In the Victorian period the age of marriage was primarily dependent upon one's social class. After 1823 (In Britain) women could be married as young as 12, but this was rare.

Among the lower classes, a woman would be expected to marry at a younger age (14-20).

Among the upper classes, marriage could occur well into a woman's late 20s and 30s, dependent upon prospects. Overall, the average age of marriage in the Victorian period was 18-25, much the same as today.

Do you happen to know if this was her first marriage? The situation youve described is certainly atypical.

I don't know anybody who was alive back then but I'm 29 and my husband is 25 and I kinda like being the older one in our relationship and I think it's becoming common.

much older women?

9 years is not a big difference

in 1812 a women not married at that age would except about anybody of any age to support her