While I'm sure there were some elopements because of unwed pregnancies, that's certainly not the only answer. My grandmother's sister eloped to Waukegan in 1920 and she never had any children at all. On the other hand, there are many marriages in Milwaukee parish registers followed by "premature" births. I once ran into one where the couple got married one day and had the baby the next. Maybe they weren't sure she'd make to Waukegan without going into labor! That marriage, incidentally, was NOT performed at the bride's church as was usually the case. Mary Popovich