[Nell]

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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