Not marrying
 

I'm having a look at a family of OH's. There are 16 children, all of whom live to adulthood and most into their 60s or beyond.

Of the 16 only 3 marry and only 2 of those have children.

The family is wealthy so there is no need to marry for survival but unless I missed a birth for a son who moved to India there are no male heirs and the name dies out, for that branch at least.

The youngest son seems to do well for himself, inheriting from many of his siblings and assumedly from his parents too. The last parent dies when the youngest is 20.

It just seems odd that so many did not marry. I know you might keep a daughter at home to look after you but all of them? There was enough money to have servants.

When was this Toni? Were they all girls who didnt marry? I’m just thinking of during war time when so many boyfriends and fiances died.

I have more than one family like this. Several of my ancestors come from huge families which are almost extinct by the next generation. I haven't worked out why, other than to think that if you were female and had an independent income, you did not NEED to marry!

In one family I suspect the father kept a tight hold on the money and for some reason did not allow his children to marry. Spiteful control.

OC

There might have been nobody who was their social equal within their circle.
They may have been perfect frights, not fancied marriage or been mildly incapacitated.
Marriage is much more of an economic necessity if you are poor. (Though money brings more suitors)

They were born from 1796 to 1820 and were both male and female, although I don't think any of the women married.

I have no reason to suspect the father was not a nice man, although it is entirely possible. Mum died when the youngest was 8 but the eldest daughter was well and truly past marrying age by that point.

Four of the daughters seem to have lived together for most of their lives, although there was one census where they went their separate ways then moved back again.

I've had people who've not married before but it is such a large portion of the family which surprised me this time. Money has it advantages I guess. I just hope they didn't want to marry.

We can only speculate! People marry for financial security, for companionship, to have children. If you are financially secure and have friends and family and don't want children (bearing in mind that for women childbirth was extremely dangerous and the chances were that many children you had would die) then you might prefer the single life.

I've got some instances of people in mine and ex's trees where they didn't marry. In one family there was one son who did marry and have children but none of his sisters did. They worked as jewellers, tie-makers and artificial flower makers.
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I have a couple of Doctors who seemed to have never married and lived with their mother and spinster sisters for many many years.

Going back through the generations, without the benefit of census records, we will never know if these unmarried people in our trees were handicapped in some physical or mental way.

I have census records for these people but nothing indicated any sort of incapacity. It doesn't mean they weren't but nothing was recorded.