MovieChat Forums > Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) Discussion > LORETTA WAS NOT 13

LORETTA WAS NOT 13

posted 11 years ago by poetcomic1
11 replies | jump to latest

It was something to create some buzz. She was really 15 when she married. This has been proven.

She was from the backwoods of Appalachia. Most people in that part of the country didn't know their exact age!

[–] mel2000 11 years ago

I find that hard to believe. I doubt Appalachia is so isolated that people don't know the concept of dates.

[–] bbmrky 11 years ago

It's very true. On my Grandma's 80th bday, she actually found out she was 82. Not a good present and she was not thrilled. So yeah, back in the day, especially in Appalachia, it was not uncommon at all for mistakes/discrepancies on birth certificates. It was actually quite common.

[–] sonofbeach-sheet 11 years ago

If you ever do any genealogy research, particularly the south, most people didn't know their exact birth date, mainly those born in the 1800's and before. Half the people couldn't read or write was part of the reason. Usually family Bible's were where the records were kept

[–] chitownsiren-774-641813 10 years ago

I lived near Appalachia for awhile. It's a different world. Not knowing actual age/birthdates is quite believable, especially back then.

[–] fward63 11 years ago

That makes it ok then !

[–] sinceimetjc 10 years ago

fward63 replied Oct 18, 2013
That makes it ok then !

I know it seems sick by today's standards, but it was pretty common for teens to get married, even in the 1940's. my grandmother was 14 and my grandfather was 18 when they got married in 1941.

[–] JayMusicGirl 10 years ago

Yeah, the view of dating/courting has changed over the years for younger people. Back then, when you were courting, you did it to see if the person you're interested in would be someone you'd want to marry after you felt the courtship was over. So I guess in that particular area that she grew up in or maybe just the deep south, it didn't really matter how old you were as long as it was a traditional courtship. Nowadays, most teenagers (or younger) date for "fun" leaving trails of broken hearts without any need for commitment because getting married under 18 would be just obsurd, but doing everything else that goes with dating isn't. And the younger, the "cuter" it is... Until someone ends up pregnant at 12 or 13. Such weird thinking. I'm not really ashamed to say I haven't dated yet at 17 and haven't given in to the nearly impenetrable peer pressure. It's really ridiculous.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] crystal_delgado2003 8 years ago

She was 14 and Doo was 18 when they married

[–] jd-suarez05 7 years ago

15 wow she was an old gag by then.

Relax your hilljack