70 Hattie Plum Williams 
of labor, and the comparative prosperity of the immigrant even in 
times of financial stress, keep hope alive and encourage them to 
carry out their plans in spite of temporary conditions. Those 
who have lived here longer, however, and have a higher standard 
of living, similar to the American element, are more susceptible to 
the general principle controlling the marriage rate.® 
In the age at which they marry, the Russian Germans of 
Lincoln differ decidedly from the American population. They 
marry earlier in life; there is less range in the marriage age; and 
the women of certain classes seem to marry younger in America 
instead of older as one would expect to find. Of 730 Russian 
German brides of the first marriage, 60.0 per cent. were married 
between the ages of 18 and 20, while the ages of all ranged only 
from 16 to 38. Of 722 Russian German grooms, 59.9 per cent. 
were married between the ages of 21 and 23, varying from 18 to 
possibly 40 years. Few persons, either men or women, pass the 
25-year line before marriage.** Of the above number of brides, 
94.2 per cent. were married under 25 years of age, and of the 
grooms, 88.5 per cent. Distributed among five-year periods, 
these marriages occurred as follows: 
Taste XIV. Ace at MarRRIAGE AMONG RUSSIAN GERMAN BRIDES AND 
GRooMsS 
Age at Marriage Brides, Per Cent Grooms, Per Cent 
TOR20R CATS ge yy ge eee eet ceca gers 62.7 5.3 
PEASE N SEN ae gatos Hnlom eee ale Bid nae SILO) 77.8 
26=3 OF VCASH em Eto in iaeneoee ae eines 1.9 12.4 
Sia eisniehoMiny eens eves aca ae moe ae Tear 3.4 
BOPAONVEALS ut Valence ee terested one 4 Tait 
62 These facts demonstrate the proposition that it is the lack of luxuries 
which deter people from marriage, but not the lack of necessities. 
63 Marriage Records of Lancaster County, Nebraska, I1V—XL (1878- 
1914). The previous marital condition is noted only since 1909 and it is 
‘not always possible to tell whether it is a remarriage unless the title 
“Mrs.” is prefixed. With the grooms there is no opportunity to distin- 
guish, except as one knows the facts from other records, hence the figures 
may be somewhat higher than they should be. 
64“ Tn Russia the marriages take place much earlier than in any other 
country on account of the national customs and the peculiar system of 
202 
