My great grandfather, James J. Gorham conveyed two lots in LeRaysville to his wife, Mary Angeline (Burns) for $1,000, fewer than five months before his death on 8 SEP 1894. He had been ill for quite some time and probably sensed that he was near the end of his life. My question is why did he feel it necessary to take these measures? I can only assume that he wanted to ensure that she held this property after his demise and didn't trust existing laws to accomplish that end. Dave Kester, Stockton, CA ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com