I have to echo Brigitte's advice here. My GGGF married in Posilge, West Prussia (now Zulawka Sztumska, Poland ) in 1853 at the age of 32 to a woman who was 24. As far as I know, this was the first marriage for both of them. As far as Prussian military service is concerned, a young man who was drafted generally completed three years of service (two years after 1893) sometime after his finishing school at around the age of 14. After his formal schooling was completed, he would start an apprenticeship or go into paid employment in agriculture, trade, or industry. As best as I can determine, the years of military service generally encompassed the years between the ages of 20 to 23, although this certainly varied by individual. However, it is a myth that all men were called for military service. Depending on the area, there were usually far more young men available than there were need for them in the military. Since Prussian regiments were authorized only to draft as many young men as they had slots for, many young men did not serve time in the military. Bill Sheleski Message: 3 Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 13:29:48 -0800 (PST) From: Brigitte Jahnke <bj49545@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [PRUSSIA-ROOTS] Prussian Military Service To: prussia-roots@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <1326144588.48372.YahooMailClassic@web46216.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Hello Denise, there are lot's of good reasons that make people getting married at the age of 25. But Ignacy possibly had to wait until he was of age. Up to 1876 in Prussia you were of age when you had 25 years. After being of age he did not need a marraige permit from his parents any longer. Brigitte.