Bonnie - If someone replies to this question off-list, please post the answer here for all to see. I've been searching to the answer to this question as well. I believe we had a very large discussion about this on the Bureau County list a number of years ago. I also have an ancestor who married young. When she married in 1885, she was just 14 years old, but gave her age as 15 on the certificate. I believe her maternal grandmother gave permission for her marriage, although the record is somewhat unclear about that. Another relative married in 1874 at the age of 14 with the permission granted by her mother (father was deceased). Although these are decades after your 1858 marriage, it does appear that at this time, marriages could take place at that age as long as the adult with responsibility for their care, gave permission for the marriage to take place. Shelly Thanks Tim. What was Illinois legal age for marriage in 1858? One of the girls was only fourteen when she was married (unheard of, at least in the bride's family) but I suspect she married without parental permission. The groom, age 21 was a farmer's son from Putnam Co. She was a farmer's daughter from LaSalle Co. and they were married in Livingston Co. perhaps in order to hide the marriage from her father. Bonnie