In the 1800’s the average age of women at marriage was 20, but marriage at 15 was not uncommon. This is fairly consistent nationwide.
The average age for men was 30-35.
At least according to the census records.
In the UK, the average age for a woman marrying between 1851 and 1890 was just under age 26 for “all brides” (including women becoming remarried...and was over age 24 for single women...the average age for a single woman to be married in the UK/Wales in the last half of the nineteenth century was never younger than 24.3 years [1871-1875] [Ya gotta remember that a lot of Utah brides in the 1860s & beyond were UK converts coming to Utah] …
The data came from this source: UK/Wales average age of “all brides”
That was the UK...what about the United States in the latter half of the 19th century?
* In New England, the average marriage age in MA 1850-1860 was age 23.6. (Vermont in 1858 it was 21.4)
Two other table charts I came across included one where the average age for 1750-1890 at about age 22 -- only dipping down below that for one decade --1870-1879 (21.7 yrs).
Another table showed the average age for women marrying in 1650 was 20; 1750, 23; 1850, 24; 1950, 20.
Now, let's get Utah-specific: A BYU professor, Kathryn M. Daynes, researched marriages in Manti, Utah area in the 19th century. She concluded that ”Women throughout the period married young, younger than outside Utah.” BYU Source: More Wives Than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System, 1840-1910
Now since polygamy busted open among Mormons more in Utah under Brigham's leadership, was Brigham just being magnanimous in "helping women" find shelter? We can, for that, "call to the stand" a Mormon "apostle" who was born during the polygamy years (early 1870s):
’We do not understand why the Lord commanded the practice of plural marriage.’ (Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 1960, p.393). One of the most popular explanations is that the church practiced polygamy because there was a surplus of women. The truth is, however, that there were less women than men. Apostle Widtsoe admitted that there was no surplus of women”: 'The implied assumption in this theory, that there have been more female than male members in the Church, is not supported by existing evidence. On the contrary, there seems always to have been more males than females in the Church.’.. The United States census records from 1850 to 1940, and all available Church records, uniformly show a preponderance of males in Utah, and in the Church. Indeed, the excess in Utah has usually been larger than for the whole United States, ... there was no surplus of women'” (Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 1960, pp.390-92," as cited in Changing World of Mormonism, pp. 224-225).
except these were not marriages...
they were just one night stands with little girls some as young as 14...
Young had one wife and over 50 concubines...
all at the same time...
Joey Smith had at lest 40 extra women among them 14 year olds and 11 women already married to other men...
again these were not marriages...
just sexual exploits of defenseless women and children...
Joey Smith and Bringem Young were both sick perverted dogs ...
Like this “president” (pastor) of a Mormon religious house...