Re: [LegacyUG] Determining ages
Paul Ramshaw wrote: In colonial New England in the 17th and 18th centuries a man came of age at 21. See http://www.genfiles.com/legal/legalage.htm for a discussion of this point in modern English. The principal authority that colonial lawyers looked to for a discussion of the common law of England was Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 1760s. In Book 1, Chapter 17, Blackstone, after discussing what guardians do (i.e., protect and represent persons not yet of age), addresses when one comes of age, and says it's at 21. See attached MS Word document, with a screen shot of the relevant portion of Blackstone. See http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/blackstone/bla-117.htm for the text of that chapter. Paul in DC (a lawyer) Paul, Many thanks for the link to Blackstone. I thought that the case was something like that. If I remember correctly, it was around 1960 that in England the age of majority was reduced from 21years to 18years - I cannot remember whether it was before or after my 21st! BTW. attachments are not allowed on this list, out of consideration for people on dial-up and the risk of viruses (see the guide lines). Ron Ferguson _ New Tutorial: Embed Blogger RSS feed into your Website http://www.fergys.co.uk Includes the family tree for Alan J Grimshaw http://www.fergys.co.uk/Grimshaw/ For The Fergusons of N.W. England http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/fergys/ Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Determining ages
Gee, Ron, I was hoping for someone who was alive then to give me a definitive answer... I guess in lieu of that we'll just have to go with what we have now... I hark for the 40's (in the last century, certainly not the 17th) and the legal age in the US was pretty much universal at 21, so no doubt that is the best choice. For now I will base my estimates on that value until someone comes up with something different. Thanks for the feedback. Jim On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 11:42 AM, Ron Ferguson rnldfe...@tiscali.co.ukwrote: Jim, I cannot help you with the American age, but if you are right, in that it was the same as for England, then it was almost certainly 21years. Although I am not as old as the date you are looking for it was 21years in England even when I was a kid :-). I have tried, without success, to get confirmation myself for the period to which you refer, and I am beginning to wonder if it was simply an age which was generally accepted, and later became enshrined in common law ie. without a specific Act of Parliament, or may be it came from church law. If anybody does have a definitive answer I would like to know myself. Ron Ferguson _ New Tutorial: Embed Blogger RSS feed into your Website http://www.fergys.co.uk Includes the family tree for Alan J Grimshaw http://www.fergys.co.uk/Grimshaw/ For The Fergusons of N.W. England http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/fergys/ - Original Message - From: Jim Walton To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyFamilyTree.com Sent: 27 September 2009 00:59 Subject: [LegacyUG] Determining ages I have several wills that use a phrase similar to arrive to age in the law. The time period is 17th and 18th century New Hampshire so I would assume that the English legal system would apply, but I have been unable to determine what that age should be. If I knew I could establish some better estimated dates of birth. Right now I'm using 18 years, but I recently read something that makes me think it may have been 21. Does anyone know for certain? Thank you. I'm picking up tidbits from this list almost on a daily basis. Jim Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
[LegacyUG] Determining ages
I have several wills that use a phrase similar to arrive to age in the law. The time period is 17th and 18th century New Hampshire so I would assume that the English legal system would apply, but I have been unable to determine what that age should be. If I knew I could establish some better estimated dates of birth. Right now I'm using 18 years, but I recently read something that makes me think it may have been 21. Does anyone know for certain? Thank you. I'm picking up tidbits from this list almost on a daily basis. Jim
Re: [LegacyUG] Determining ages
Jim, I cannot help you with the American age, but if you are right, in that it was the same as for England, then it was almost certainly 21years. Although I am not as old as the date you are looking for it was 21years in England even when I was a kid :-). I have tried, without success, to get confirmation myself for the period to which you refer, and I am beginning to wonder if it was simply an age which was generally accepted, and later became enshrined in common law ie. without a specific Act of Parliament, or may be it came from church law. If anybody does have a definitive answer I would like to know myself. Ron Ferguson _ New Tutorial: Embed Blogger RSS feed into your Website http://www.fergys.co.uk Includes the family tree for Alan J Grimshaw http://www.fergys.co.uk/Grimshaw/ For The Fergusons of N.W. England http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/fergys/ - Original Message - From: Jim Walton To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyFamilyTree.com Sent: 27 September 2009 00:59 Subject: [LegacyUG] Determining ages I have several wills that use a phrase similar to arrive to age in the law. The time period is 17th and 18th century New Hampshire so I would assume that the English legal system would apply, but I have been unable to determine what that age should be. If I knew I could establish some better estimated dates of birth. Right now I'm using 18 years, but I recently read something that makes me think it may have been 21. Does anyone know for certain? Thank you. I'm picking up tidbits from this list almost on a daily basis. Jim Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Determining ages
From a Google search: Welcome to StateMaster, a unique statistical database which allows you to research and compare a multitude of different data on US states. We have compiled information from various primary sources such as the US Census Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. More than just a mere collection of various data, StateMaster goes beyond the numbers to provide you with visualization technology like pie charts, maps, graphs and scatterplots. The coming of age in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom is celebrated either at 18, which is the legal age of majority, or at 21, the traditional age. In the United States the coming of age is celebrated either at 18, the age of majority, or at 21, the legal drinking age. Virginia Dunham Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
