VA-Hist regulars will recall that two of the great scandals of the early
Republic in Virginia involved men accused of committing adultery,
incest, and/or infanticide with their sisters-in-law: Richard Randolph
with his cousin and sister-in-law Nancy Randolph (a story brilliantly
told in Cynthia Kierner's "Scandal at Bizarre: Rumor and Reputation in
Jefferson's America" [2006]; Nancy later left Virginia and married
Gouverneur Morris), and Henry "Black-Horse Harry" Lee with his ward and
sister-in-law Betsy McCarty. In both cases the most disturbing factor
wasn't the adultery; it was that the accused had violated a kinship line
with someone in his household who was supposed to be under his
protection.

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Sara B. Bearss
[log in to unmask]
Senior Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography
The Library of Virginia
800 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23221-8000
 
Friends don't let friends split infinitives.
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