Just to follow up on your post, I've notcied MANY people were married on Christmas Day, and thought how odd! I'm sure they knew the minister would be there. In general, legal age was 21 as it is now. Sometimes you see consent for males as well as females. But I'm betting the people who ventured farther west initially are the hardest to trace, based on lack of records. My impression.... is that if people had some money and stature in their VA communities, they made certain to follow THE LAW, ... sometimes recording deeds & wills in multiple counties to be sure they covered all bases. Good Grief! ...as fast as counties were changing, I don't know how they even kept up with where they lived. You have to remember we're talking about people, even the well-to-do, who did not have indoor plumbing and had to keep the fire burning 24/7 or else take a few potatoes over to a neighbor and borrow some. I honor them all, we would not be here if they hadn't lived their freedom as they did Sherrie