I have been reviewing some old deeds which were copied and sent to me by CD. I noticed that there were no relinquishments of Dower rights for any of these deeds. Was this normal for pre-1850 Claiborne Co., TN deeds? Thanks, Sharon

I went back and looked at some of mine and see dower rights barely mentioned -- unless the rights themselves are being sold at the time. Odd. The dower laws changed over time, but there definitely was a dower law through 1850 and at least into the 1880s. Most of the deeds I have, though, are for extra plots of land, rarely the plot where the home stood. On 4/16/07, Sharon Bryant <SharonBryant@cox.net> wrote: > > I have been reviewing some old deeds which were copied and sent to me by > CD. > > I noticed that there were no relinquishments of Dower rights for any of > these deeds. > > Was this normal for pre-1850 Claiborne Co., TN deeds? > > Thanks, > > Sharon > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TNCLAIBO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Phillip A. Walker phillip.walker@gmail.com

Phillip, Would it really have mattered whether the home was was on the land that was being sold? If it was real estate wouldn't the wife have dower rights? Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: Phillip Walker To: Sharon Bryant Cc: tnclaibo@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 10:11 AM Subject: Re: [TNCLAIBO] Question about deeds I went back and looked at some of mine and see dower rights barely mentioned -- unless the rights themselves are being sold at the time. Odd. The dower laws changed over time, but there definitely was a dower law through 1850 and at least into the 1880s. Most of the deeds I have, though, are for extra plots of land, rarely the plot where the home stood. On 4/16/07, Sharon Bryant <SharonBryant@cox.net> wrote: I have been reviewing some old deeds which were copied and sent to me by CD. I noticed that there were no relinquishments of Dower rights for any of these deeds. Was this normal for pre-1850 Claiborne Co., TN deeds? Thanks, Sharon ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TNCLAIBO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- Phillip A. Walker phillip.walker@gmail.com

You might find something here:http://www.tngenweb.org/law/index.html There is a section on early land laws. John -----Original Message----- From: tnclaibo-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:tnclaibo-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Sharon Bryant Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 8:49 AM To: tnclaibo@rootsweb.com Subject: [TNCLAIBO] Question about deeds I have been reviewing some old deeds which were copied and sent to me by CD. I noticed that there were no relinquishments of Dower rights for any of these deeds. Was this normal for pre-1850 Claiborne Co., TN deeds? Thanks, Sharon ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TNCLAIBO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Sharon has raised an interesting question. Some of the rights of women in this time period are misunderstood and to some degrees they were probably misunderstood in the early nineteenth century by the common person. An unmarried woman who was of legal age could buy and sell property just as a man; however upon entering into marriage her rights were much more limited. The land she possessed may become the property of her husband unless there were prenuptial agreements made to protect this from happening. I have never found a very good source to show all the laws of this time period and some I've just figured out as I went along and now the internet has brought many to light for researchers. Most of the laws of this period were laws that were common in English law and therefore became law in the colonies and later the states. A single woman was referred to in law as Femme Sole, with many of the same rights as the man. A married woman was referred to as Femme Covert, with her husband in charge of acting in her behalf in legal matters. Many of these laws did not begin to change until after 1840 and mostly after the Civil War. Some states were slow to change even after new laws passed and most women were probably kept ignorant of her rights. Before this time when a man sold property his wife was entitled to an interest known as a dower. It was usually a one third interest. If the man sold the property his wife was usually required to sign with him on the deed to transfer her right of dower. This was particularly important when transferring the land where the home was built, for if this was sold and the man died the woman could be left without anything. Eventually some courts did enforce the laws by separately questioning the woman to be certain she was selling her interest of property without the persuasion of the husband. I still see many situations where the man sold property he had bought out of speculation and when he sold the land the woman's name is not on the deed. This seemed to be an accepted practice, even though it may not have been legal. A woman's rights changed when she divorced the husband or he died. If the man died intestate, the woman had the right to be the executor of his estate. She had to go to court and either accept this responsibility or "relinquish" this right to another person; or the courts would appoint someone for her to carry out this responsibility. I see this was common even as far back as statehood in Tennessee. An example I just looked at was when Martha Yoakum and her son went into court in Grainger County in 1800 and she accepted her "rights" as the administrator of her deceased husband, George Yoakum. Her oldest son, Isaac, was named as co-executor along with her. Many researchers for years thought that this was Isaac Yoakum and his wife, Martha. However Isaac's wife would have had no 'rights' in the administration of the estate of her husband's father. Later it was proven that the wife of Isaac was named Mary and not Martha. Upon the death of the husband that died intestate the woman was entitled to one third of the property and one years support taken from his possessions. This was to protect the woman against debts the man had entered into that would have been settled by selling all the woman may have had to sustain her and her family. I just did a search for dower rights in Tennessee and I did not immediately see a link that dealt with Tennessee in specific; however, most states had common laws that were similar. Here is one site I enjoyed: http://www.press.uillinois.edu/epub/books/stowell/ch5.html I'm sure that by doing some more searching other sites could be found to better illustrate the laws pertaining to women and how they were enforced at this time. Steve Smith -----Original Message----- From: tnclaibo-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:tnclaibo-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Sharon Bryant Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 8:49 AM To: tnclaibo@rootsweb.com Subject: [TNCLAIBO] Question about deeds I have been reviewing some old deeds which were copied and sent to me by CD. I noticed that there were no relinquishments of Dower rights for any of these deeds. Was this normal for pre-1850 Claiborne Co., TN deeds? Thanks, Sharon ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TNCLAIBO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message