1945, grandpa was 21 & grandma was 16 here. 😦 Taken at a diner near Newton, Iowa. Grandpa Gerald was in the Navy at the time. Grandma Ruth had my uncle Tim a year after this in 1946, while she “lived at her aunt’s for a while”. 😏 My mom was then born in 1949.
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This thread will involve a fair amount of basic arithmetic.
Very similar stories for our families! Grandpa was 21, in the Navy. Grandma was 16 and her dad did not approve of the older man “sniffing around.” Dad was born in 1950 😅 oh, Iowa also!
This is an adorable photo. What a poignant moment in history to be a young person. I bet your grandparents had some amazing stories to tell.
My grandfather was 25 and in the Navy when he married my 15 y.o. grandmother! Different times! 😬
My maternal grandfather, born in the 1880s, just seven months after his parents’ marriage.
The poor little preemie weighed 7 1/2 pounds.
I believe my wife’s mom was at the most 16 when she married my late FIL. My wife was an Army brat who got to visit the world. 7 kids later, they retired in San Antonio.
Age differences are crazy, especially back then. My grand parents came from a small town and back then you typically married someone from the town you grew up in. Unfortunately sometimes most of the women where already married so you had to “broaden” your search. I think my Great Grandfather was like 22 and my Great Grandmother was 15 in like 1899 when they got married. I’m not condoning the age gap just providing some context on how it happened in many cases.
I had to do a double take. My grandparents are around the same age and they look insanely similar to yours. Your grandma looks like the perfect mix of my mom and my own grandma. I swear I have a picture of my mom that looks eerily similar. Mine came from Minnesota. Do you happen to have an idea about your grandma’s heritage? My grandparents were born in 1918 and as far as I know, they stayed in Minnesota for most of their lives. My grandpa was in the army and adopted and my grandma was the daughter of a funeral director/the person who helped get the bodies ready for viewing. My mom died a few years back and this particular picture was like casually scrolling and seeing my own mom. Would you be willing to DM her maiden name? I know it’s a really weird question, but my jaw just dropped. Chances are pretty slim that we are in any way related, but Jesus, it’s just uncanny. If I can find the picture of my mom that I’m thinking of, I’d be more than happy to send it to you in case you might be interested.
My grandpa (20) was in the army in the Korean War…started dating my grandma (15) shortly before leaving…married her when he came back (23/18). They had 4 kids and were happily married for 50+ years before she died.
My parents were married in January 1962. I was born in June. They were 24 and 23. But it was a bit of a Catholic scandal to my mum’s family and her mother and 3 sisters didn’t attend the wedding! My folks had to get help from friends to get to the church and organise stuff. I didn’t learn of this until my mum’s death in 2017 when my dad told me. The ironic thing is after I was born, my grandmother and aunties were all over the gorgeous new baby I was lol.
They both look so happy
They look like Kitty and Red from that 70’s show.
My parents married young in 1941, Dad was 17 and Mom was 14. My Dad’s parents helped them elope, lol. Oddly, Dad went to war in ’43 and there were no children until after my Dad came back from WWII, my brother being born in ’46. Usually, families back then were started right away.
It’s weird how that was acceptable but now it would just be creepy.
My mother also “lived at her Aunt’s” for a while…and miracles upon miracles…I was born
One of the best quotes from ‘1923’ when two dads are watching their kids, a son and daughter, getting along very well…
“They can’t be acting like that, they ain’t married yet.”
“When they do get hitched and the first baby comes along I wouldn’t be looking too hard at the calendar if I were you.”
They look like they’re in their 40’s there.
He had some stripes, must have been a good sailor
How did I just know that reddit would call OP’s grandfather a rapist.
They look so happy
Looks like ol grandpa has a dame on each arm!! You may have more siblings than you actually know about!!
Wow, my brother could have been this guys clone… Mad…
Eddie Fisher and Lauren Bacall
that is one beautiful smile, both of them.
When my oldest cousin got married, she was 25 I think. At the wedding my grandma was saying to my mom that my cousin was “too young” to get married. My mom replied that when my grandma was her age, she was married with three kids already. My grandma just replied “Vell, it was a different time.”
“You want cigarettes on that?”
“Of course I want cigarettes on that!”
My great grandma was 14 and my great grandpa was 17 when they got married. My grandma wasn’t born for another 3 years. Insane to think of it in todays terms.
My grandma was born 6 months after her parents were married. For almost all of her life, she was under the impression her parents were married in 1921 instead of 1922. She insisted that the marriage license and other documents had the year wrong.
Going to live with an aunt was a thing.
Handsome couple!
These were the ages my maternal grandparents were at the time they married (around 1940, if memory serves). Grandma had her first child a month before turning 17, and was pregnant with her second (my mom) on her 18th birthday.
love this. Things are so different now. I think it would be nice to go back and live during this era, I wouldn’t mind the turn of the century either. But yeah, I’m old school, so….
My in-laws lived in Omaha. Newton was s good place to stop on the drive out from Chicago. Besides being the home of Maytag washing machines, they also are the main dairy for Maytag z blue cheese .(yumm).
And my parents allegedly eloped on June 1 and got married in church around Labor Day. I was the largest premature baby the hospital had ever seen the next zMarch. Hah!
Good looking grandparents. They look very happy. I hope they had a loved filled life.
Why did people look so much older for their age back then? Every 21 year old I’ve ever met looks like a child compared to this guy. Most 30 somethings, too
Love this! I’m originally from Iowa, and you can find so many interesting old photos in antique shops. It’s the best!
Very cool! Close to the age of my parents also! Plus my dad was also in the Navy (a pilot). And my parents were just one state over, in Wisconsin. Nice pic!
This is very similar to my grandparents. They were both 19 in late 1945 when they got married, and my grandfather was in the Navy too. My mom was their first child, born in Dec 1946. They were happily married until my grandfather passed in Feb 2020.
Correction: my uncle was born in July 1947.
Also, they married in late 1946. Grandpa would have been 22 & grandma 17. So very possibly a shotgun wedding.
They had 4 kids total. Uncle in 1947, my mom in 1949, other uncle in 1951, & aunt in 1953.
They divorced around 1970, after my mom’s graduation in 1969.
Also, I’m just sharing a picture. Not condoning any of my grandparents actions, simply sharing a seemingly nice moment of my grandparents lives. I’m aware that is a faux pas for this time.
Wasn’t uncommon for the age gaps. My mom’s parents were 18 and 25 or 26 when they married. (Small coal producing town in Pennsylvania) 6 kids and 68 years of married. They were totally in love.