Stuart, While I basically agree with your assumptions on age of marriage and number of children, I have examples in my family of early marriage and children in a number of parishes. Young marriages occurred to secure family fortunes and land. They also happened because of "rustic" behaviour of youth. This is usually obvious from the date of marriage and the first born. With regard to the children, I have found that agricultural labourers (and sometimes farmers) moved from farm to farm following the work. They were often employed via the hiring fairs in the market towns and changed farms regularly until more permanent positions opened. This had the effect of balancing jobs with labour in a wider economy and mixing the gene pool. The effect is more obvious in the 19th century when a labourer and his circumstances can be viewed across the census, with a family being born in batches across 2-3 villages. You do not say what tools you have been using to research. A lot of 18c Devon is not yet online and the registers should be searched starting with those surrounding North Moulton. Try and find a copy of Parloc software on the web. This lists 39 parishes in a 10 mile radius of North Moulton. I am sure Jane was worth a 10 mile walk. Paul -----Original Message----- From: devon-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:devon-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of STUART BLAKE Sent: 10 December 2013 03:49 To: devon@rootsweb.com Subject: [DEV] Re John Blake and Jane Hooper, Plymouth, Devon My ancestors, John Blake and Jane had three children in North Molton, 1767, 1770, and 1772. The only marriage someone has found was to a Jane Abbot in Barnstable in 1770. This can not be correct, as they had a child in 1767, and John would have only been 19 at the time of his first child. It is probable, but in my research, not likely. Another concern, is that they only had 3 children. Again, probable, but not likely. I have done extensive research all over Devon, and even in Somerset county, but have come up empty handed. I have come across a marriage for a Jno. Blake and Jane Hooper on 15 July 1753, in Plymouth (St. Andrews Parish.). I see they had some children there. This marriage fits perfectly into the parameters that I am working with. However, as those records I have access to, are more time consuming to read and go through, I was wondering if anyone could give me some input and/or guidance. Was it common back then to be married in Plymouth, and then travel that far (to North Molton)? I say that far, as it is from one end of Devon to the opposite end, but for poor hungry people, that probably wasn't far to go to work. What type of records are there to verify where one went, or where one came from? Is there a Hooper family member that may know of this marriage and shed some light on it for me? Am I looking up the wrong 'tree’? As I don't live in England, I am not sure of the customs at this time, and wonder if I am wasting my time searching this marriage out, but so far, it is the only John Blake that married a Jane, prior to 1767 that I can find. Thanks for any help/advise. Stuart ------------------------------------------ The DEVON-L mailing list is co-sponsored by GENUKI/Devon ( http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/ ) and the Devon FHS (http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/ ) List archive for Devon can be found at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index/DEVON/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DEVON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message