Also this:<p>&gt;  The American colonies followed the English tradition, but the law was more of a guide. For example, Mary Hathaway (Virginia, 1689) was only 9 when she was married to William Williams. Sir Edward Coke (England, 17th century) made it clear that &quot;the marriage of girls under 12 was normal, and the age at which a girl who was a wife was eligible for a dower from her husband&#x27;s estate was 9 even though her husband be only four years old&quot;.[1] Reliable data for when people would actually marry are very difficult to find. In England, for example, the only reliable data on age at marriage in the early modern period come from records that involved only those who left property after their death.