Can someone help me with Louisiana law ca. 1812? A will of that year filed in Feliciana Parish reads "I bequeath to ---- ----- natural daughter of ------- (same last name) . . . " The father married two times afterward and became a major landowner and slave owner in the parish. His will was not probated until after his third wife died in 1846 and the succession dealt only with the minor children by that marriage. However, it appears that the three surviving children by the second marriage all had received land earlier, perhaps after their mother died in 1823 and he remarried, perhaps when he died in 1838. There is no indication that this "natural daughter" inherited anything or received any land from him or his estate. QUESTION 1: Today "natural daughter" means an illegitimate child. Did it then? According to family tradition, the daughter in question was the daughter of this man and a first wife who died shortly after childbirth. QUESTION 2: Did illegitimate children have any claim on their father's estat e? In this case, the daughter was always acknowledged as a family member. While the daughter stated in the 1860 census that she was born in Louisiana ca. 1802, she may have been born in Natchez. Again, according to family tradition, her father moved to Feliciana after her mother died. He was living in Feliciana by 1807 when he remarried. Would her birth or her mother's death in Mississippi affect the status of her inheritance rights? Wouldn't she have a claim to her father's half of community property even if he had no separate property prior to the 1807 marriage? Should I keep looking for the alleged mother of this child, or should I write her off as fiction? Thanks for helping. E. W. Prichard

WHOA, HOSS!!! What in the world do you mean when you say "Today 'natural daughter' means an illegitimate child"??? Natural child is a biological child. Biological as opposed to adopted. NATURAL. If a child was illegitimate but duly acknowledged, THEN the child could inherit from a father, but if the child was never acknowledged, then in order to be placed in possession of any real or personal property, one had to prove paternity. Doesn't matter where the child was born, she could inherit. But which will was probated? You can make a new will every day if you want to and/or with each new spouse. Was she mentioned in the will that was probated? Remember we had a WAR down here after 1846 and many people ended up with nothing, inherited OR earned. How many siblings did the child have? That would determine the percentage to which she would have been entitled re community property. However, he could have given her her portion while he was still alive if he wanted. You need to be a little more specific to get more complete answers, I believe. <<Should I keep looking for the alleged mother of this child, or should I write her off as fiction?>> Sounds like she was very real ... depends on what you're looking for I suppose. If the child was born in Natchez, you might find a marriage license there Or in church records. Lots of courthouses had fires, tho, and all kinds of records were destroyed. I don't know about Natchez courthouse. Louisiana law is so very different from other states insofar as forced heirship laws were/are concerned. Perhaps you should contact an attorney who specializes in wills and successions because it can get complicated. Remember, back then the law was definitely "designed" to protect the widow and children, grown or minors, even tho the husband controlled the money, property, etc. Shirley Smith ----- Original Message ----- From: <Ewprichard@aol.com> To: <LA-LGHS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2001 7:52 PM Subject: [LA-LGHS-L] "natural daughter"??? > Can someone help me with Louisiana law ca. 1812? A will of that year filed in > Feliciana Parish reads "I bequeath to ---- ----- natural daughter of ------- > (same last name) . . . " The father married two times afterward and became a > major landowner and slave owner in the parish. His will was not probated > until after his third wife died in 1846 and the succession dealt only with > the minor children by that marriage. However, it appears that the three > surviving children by the second marriage all had received land earlier, > perhaps after their mother died in 1823 and he remarried, perhaps when he > died in 1838. There is no indication that this "natural daughter" inherited > anything or received any land from him or his estate. > > QUESTION 1: Today "natural daughter" means an illegitimate child. Did it > then? According to family tradition, the daughter in question was the > daughter of this man and a first wife who died shortly after childbirth. > > QUESTION 2: Did illegitimate children have any claim on their father's estat > e? In this case, the daughter was always acknowledged as a family member. > > While the daughter stated in the 1860 census that she was born in Louisiana > ca. 1802, she may have been born in Natchez. Again, according to family > tradition, her father moved to Feliciana after her mother died. He was living > in Feliciana by 1807 when he remarried. Would her birth or her mother's death > in Mississippi affect the status of her inheritance rights? Wouldn't she have > a claim to her father's half of community property even if he had no separate > property prior to the 1807 marriage? > > Should I keep looking for the alleged mother of this child, or should I write > her off as fiction? Thanks for helping. E. W. Prichard > > > ==== LA-LGHS Mailing List ==== > LGHS: Serving Louisiana Genealogist since 1953. Yearly dues are $25. > To learn more about us, visit our website at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~la-lghs/lghs.htm > >