The Timing and Prevalence of Women's Marriage in the French Department of the Loire, 1851-1891

Abstract

This article examines the determinants of the timing and prevalence of female marriage in a sample of 33 rural villages in the French department of the Loire in the second half of the nineteenth century when the area was beginning to experience a demographic transition. Data from 1851 and 1891 are used in the analysis. The conclusions reached are that both timing and prevalence tended to be determined by similar factors Marriage chances were structured by demographic factors, with mortality in 1851 and the sex ratio in 1891 being significant deter minants. Socioeconomic factors exerted a relatively weak influence, and especially striking is the absence of any significant effect of rural industry on either the timing or the prevalence of marriage. Cultural factors, by contrast, were very significant: isolation, in 1851, and linguistic particularism, political conservatism, and female literacy in 1891 all supported traditional pat terns of restricted marriage. The unusual direction of the influence of literacy is attributed to the overwhelming role of the Catholic Church in providing education for women in the rural parts of the department

The role of the wedding place. Community context and marital timing in nineteenth and early twentieth century Netherlands

“…Previous research has unequivocally pointed to the vast importance of religion for understanding marriage and fertility behaviour (Derosas & Van Poppel, 2006;Engelen & Hillebrand, 1986;Engelen & Kok, 2003;Lehning, 1988;McQuillan, 1999;Michael & Tuma, 1985;Molloy, 1989;Van Poppel, 1992).…”

“…a surplus of immigrants coming into the community, as well as high levels of mobility in communities should expand possibilities for finding a suitable marriage partner, some studies have indicated that migration resulted in a higher age at marriage due to time needed for adaptation to a new environment (Alter, 1998;Lynch, 1991;Oris, 2000). However, other studies do confirm the hypothesis that individuals that stay behind in often isolated rural communities face serious forbearance or even aquittance of marriage due to the unavailability of eligible marriage partners (Engelen & Kok, 2003;Gjerde & McCants, 1999;Lehning, 1988). As the former mechanism points primarily at an individual and the second more at a contextual impact, we expect the timing of marriage to be differentially affected by own migration and living in a community with a large migration surplus or a high mobility level.…”