I have an early 19th century tea-set which has been passed down to the eldest grand-daughter - so far by custom rather than by will, although I have mentioned it in my will. It was a wedding present to my 3x great grandmother who died in 1820. I am the sixth owner. ... Elizabeth Atherton I was delighted to find only a few years ago that an ancestress of mine had left something (a wedding veil) on a "female-entail", to be owned in turn by the eldest daughter of the eldest daughter and was clearly specified in her will. I wonder if such female-entails are in any way common? And you may be glad to hear that the veil is still in use, is now in about the sixth generation of ownership and has adorned over 20 brides, including, I was surprised to find, my mother. -- Tim Powys-Lybbe tim@powys.org For a miscellany of bygones: http://powys.org ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== OLD-ENGLISH Web Page http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/

In message <417D0EC0.000001.03188@XP-BKBHO2U9YIMM>, Elizabeth Atherton <elizabeth.atherton@biscituk.com> writes > I have an early 19th century tea-set which has been passed down to the >eldest grand-daughter - so far by custom rather than by will, although I >have mentioned it in my will. It was a wedding present to my 3x great >grandmother who died in 1820. I am the sixth owner. That is brilliant - the continuity over the generations must give as much satisfaction as inhernsion by entail. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society