Illinois man, woman, and child visiting New Orleans, 1735. (colored pen and ink by Alexandre de Batz, 1735)

When a young man has succeeded in learning to hunt, he tells his father that he wishes to marry and names the girl he loves, to whom sometimes he has never spoken. (Pierre Delliette, 1702)

At the time Pierre Delliette lived among the Illinois, men married at about age 20 and women at 18. A man could initiate a marriage proposal by presenting gifts directly to his intended wife's brother or by urging his father to present gifts to her family. Lacking any objections by the girl or her brother, the woman's family would accept the gifts and escort her, adorned with "glass beads, porcelain, and bells," to the man's lodge. After a series of visits and gift exchanges among the families lasting up to four days, the bride would remain in the lodge of her husband. Successful hunters often had more than one wife, usually including the wife's sisters, aunts, or nieces.