Thanks, Craig. I am using the transcribed data from the York County Records
Project that is housed at Colonial Williamsburg, and the guardianship
information is included. But your suggestion is a good reminder not to take
anything for granted and to go back and look at the microfilms of the
originals if necessary!

Martha Katz-Hyman
Curator
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Williamsburg, VA

On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 4:20 PM, Craig Kilby <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> In addition to Barbara's sound advice, I would add that you should check
> the court order books for the years in question which may give additional
> information, dates and perhaps other surprises such as appointment or
> choice of guardian(s) for Edward. If he chose his own guardian at one
> point, for example, he would have had to have been age 14 or older.
>
> Craig Kilby
>
> On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Barbara Vines Little <
> [log in to unmask]
> > wrote:
>
> > The age of majority for males and females was 21. However, a father could
> > establish a different age if he so chose.
> > You cannot assume anything. The court could have allowed the division
> > because the married daughter's husband petitioned for her share. The
> share
> > of an underage child would have been placed with the guardian, who
> guarded
> > not the child but the property.
> > The wife did not have to be named in the will. She automatically received
> > her dower portions--one third of any real estate for life and at least a
> > child's part of the personal property.
> >
> > The guardian accounts probably provide the best clue. What was the date
> of
> > the last item in the accounts? Since the guardianship ended when the
> child
> > came of age, this should provide some help in establishing that date,
> > unless there were later accounts that do not survive.
> >
> > Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FVGS
> > PO Box 1273
> > Orange, VA 22960
> >
> > 540-832-3473
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for
> > Certification of Genealogists, used
> > under license by board-certified genealogists after periodic evaluation;
> > the board name is
> > registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.
> >
> >
> > On 10/9/2014 11:57 AM, Martha Katz-Hyman wrote:
> >
> >> In connection with research I am doing for the new museum that will
> >> replace
> >> the Yorktown Victory Center, I am investigating the life of Edward Moss,
> >> one of the members of the very large Moss family of York County.
> >>
> >> This Edward Moss (there were many of that name!) was the son of James
> Moss
> >> (son of William Moss & Elizabeth Goodwin) and an unknown wife who
> >> evidently
> >> predeceased him (no wife is named in his will). James died in 1762
> leaving
> >> 3 children (John, Edward and Ann/Anna) all under the age of 21. James's
> >> estate appears not to have been finally settled until December 1772,
> when
> >> 16 slaves were divided among the three children (not all of the slaves
> >> named in the inventory are included in the division). By 1772 John was
> no
> >> longer an "orphan" and Ann was married, but I am assuming that this is
> the
> >> year that Edward also reached his majority.
> >>
> >> My questions:
> >>
> >> 1) What was the age of majority in Virginia for both genders in the
> third
> >> quarter of the eighteenth century?
> >> 2) Am I correct in assuming that the slaves were not divided until 1772
> >> because before that date Edward was still an "orphan"?
> >> 3) There are records in the York County Guardians Accounts from
> 1773-1775
> >> for the expenses Thomas Smith incurred as guardian of Edward Moss. Was
> >> Edward Moss still an "orphan" or are these accounts (recorded in 1774 &
> >> 1775) "after the fact" accountings that Thomas Smith presented to the
> >> court?
> >>
> >> Thanks for your help in figuring this out!!
> >>
> >> Martha Katz-Hyman
> >> Curator
> >> Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
> >> Williamsburg, VA
> >>
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> >>
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