what do you mean by the "social & ettiquette rules of England?"  she
might very well had an ante-nuptial agreement to protect her property. 

Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
     and Public Policy
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York   12208-3494

518-445-3386 
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>>> [log in to unmask] 12/17/07 2:43 PM >>>
My 4th gr grandparents, Reuben Wright & Joanna (or Anna) Gilbert married
in 1798, Sussex Co. VA.  The Gilberts of early Surry & Sussex Counties,
were  listed as "Planters" in the area & appeared to be a very affluent
family.  The "Surety" for this marriage was a "Gray Barker", a
descendant of another well-to-do family & was descended from George
Washington's relatives in that area.  

My question is this:  Would a lady from a family of this higher social
standing marry a man from a lower station in life, given the times in
which they lived & the fact that they still followed  the social &
ettiquette rules of England?    

Recent DNA studies have shown that this Wright family is from the line
who married into the Jarrett family & many of them moved on to both IL &
GA.   However, we still can't determine just where this group came from
originally.  

Maybe if we knew the answer to this "social" question, it would help
place our Wrights, who were from Thomas Wright, b 1700 in VA, & married
Mary Hannah Mize in Bedford Co. VA, into a known Wright line.   My
Reuben Wright was a farmer & Methodist-Episcopal minister. 

Thank you,

Diane Ethridge
Conroe, TX

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