Bev, Thank you for all the notes with those wonderful handy little tips. Charmaine On Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:03:10 EDT Ms2001@aol.com writes: > This is something that comes up every now and then. I did not > compile this > information myself but saved it when it was posted by someone else. > I wish I > had saved the name of the person so I could give them credit! > > Bev > > According to George Webb, The Office and Authority of a Justice of > Peace > (Williamsburg, 1736)a person was considered "of age" under > different > circumstances. On page 188 he wrote: > > "At Common Law, every Person under the Age of One and Twenty Years > is an > Infact; but this holds only in Civil Causes, for in Criminal Matters > the > Law regards the Age of Discretion, which is 14 Years. Co. Lit.1.3. > f.405 > > "And in Cases Civil there are several Exceptions, as, The Age for a > Man to > marry, is 14, and for a Woman 12. Hob.225. > > "An Infant of 17, shall take Administation, or prove a Will, in his > own > Right; for then the Power of Administrator, or Executor, during > Minority, > ceaseth. Vaughn, 93. > > "And whatever Act he doth, which was his Duty to do, as giving > Release upon > receiving all Money due, Paiment of just Debts, &c. shall bind him. > Co. 5. > Rep.27. > > "Above 18, may bequeath Slaves, by Will in Writing. 1 Geo. 2. cap. > 11. > > "And in divers other Cases, whereby by Special Law, or Custom, an > Infant > shall be bound, as tho' he were of full Age. > > "Surety of the Peace is grantable to or against an Infant, tho' > under 14 > Years of Age. Dalt. 269. > > "An Infant of 14 Years may commit Forcible Entry, or Detainer, for > which he > may be fined; and he shall find Sureties for his Good-behaviour; But > he > shall suffer no Imprisonment, nor Corporal Pains, for Breach of any > Penal > Law, wherein an Infant is not expressly named; yet, he shall forfeit > the > Penalty of a Penal Law, and so may lose his Goods. Doct. & Stud. p. > 147, > 148. > > "An Infant above 18, may be a Disseisor with Force, and may be > imprisoned > for the same. 22 Edw. 4, cap. 9. > > "In all Cases of Treason, or Felony, Infancy is no Plea, but the > Offender, > tho' under 14, shall be liable to the Punishments by Law inflicted > for such > Offence, if it appear that he had Knowledge of Good and Evil. Dalt. > 350." > > There are other circumstances when a person is considered "of age", > for > example, orphan boys were appearenticed until age 21 and girls to > age 18. > If I remember correctly, anyone 14 or older could witness legal > documents. > (Saved from another list.) > > Appointment of a legal guardian was not nessicarily related to who > raised a > child or where he or she lived. > > A legal guardian was either named or chosen for an entirely differnt > reason: > to protect the child's right to his or her inheritance. > > Typically, when a father or mother died, the children continued to > live with > the surviving parent, or perhaps with grandparents or other > relatives, and > no legal action was deemed necessary. > > Guardians for the children were thus not named or chosen until some > "triggering" event. For example, suppose the widow decided to > remarry. Under > typical laws, she was entitled to her "dower right" (usually > one-third), and > the children were entitled to the remainder of their father's > estate. In > view of the impending marriage, it was usually deemed necessary for > the > under-age children to have guardians to see to it that their > property rights > were protected. > > The other common "triggering" event was the death of a grandparent. > Suppose > the children's mother had previously died and the children were > living with > the father. Later, the mother's father died intestate. In this case, > her > children would be entitled to their mother's share of the > grandfather's > estate, thus make it necessary that the children have a legal > guardian. (In > a case such as this, it might well be that the father of the > children was > named their guardian.) > > The appointment of a guardian by the court or the choosing of one by > someone > at least 14 years old contains some hidden messages for > genealogists: > > First, as noted, it says that those who chose guardians were at > least age > 14. > > Secondly, it tells you to look for some event that made the > appointment of > choice of the guardian necessary - usually the remarriage of the > mother or > the death of a grandparent. > > What it does not tell you is when the parent (or parents) may have > died. Nor > does it tell you anything about who actually was rearing the > children. IOW, > the guardians were for strictly legal purposes, not for the purpose > of > saying who should be responsible for raising the child. > > It is true, however, that totally orphaned (both parents dead) were > often > raised by an uncle or other close relative, who was also their > guardian. > Said uncle would, of course, exact the costs of keeping and > schooling the > children from their inheritances! > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy > records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > >