Bob is surely correct. I personally have seen no where near that percentage - 50% - of deeds with no assent by the wife. These assents sometimes were appended to the deed on a 2nd page, and sometimes even in a separate document. Then too, if the wife did not outlive the husband, the entire question is moot, since her "widow's share" (whatever it may have been from time to time and from to place) only vested IF she survived. Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Jordan" <jorbob@webtv.net> To: <VA-SOUTHSIDE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 9:42 AM Subject: [VA-SOUTHSIDE-L] Re: Wife's land rights | Just wanted to point out that about half of the deeds on my families did | not list the wife's name when it has been proven the man was married and | had children - in spite of what should have been done. This covers | 1600s-1800s in VA and NC. So, please do not let a deed, without the | wife's name, lead to a wrong conclusion. On the other hand, I have seen | deeds that were challenged in the courts for same reason. There was a | big one like that in 1600s Surry Co. VA where a man's widow, who had | remarried, challenged the rights to ownership of a deed which had been | sold by the deceased earlier. The second husband was the one pushing | the dispute. | | Bob Jordan | jorbob@webtv.net | | | ==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== | Hosted by Rootsweb http://www.rootsweb.com | | | ============================== | Visit Ancestry's Library - The best collection of family history | learning and how-to articles on the Internet. | http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library |