The law making it a crime to marry a sister- or brother-in-law was passed by the VA Legislature in 1792.  It is noteworthy that it very seldom was enforced.


Genealogy without documentation is nothing.
                     Paul Drake JD
                Genealogist & Author
            <www.DrakesBooks.com>


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Joe Baker
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 1:45 PM
  Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Marrying a Spouse's Sibling


  In a message dated 2/2/2006 7:09:45 A.M. Central Standard Time,
  [log in to unmask] writes:

  Not  having my copy at hand, I do not
  recall precise dates, but sometime in the  1780s or 1790s the General
  Assembly radically revised the law of incest and  made it illegal for the
  first time for a person to marry a deceased  spouse's sibling. That law
  remained on the books for several  generations.

  In Shenandoah County, Virginia, Daniel Baker married Magdaline Prince, June
  19, 1790. After her death, he married her sister, Mary Prince, October 11,
  1796.  They were daughters of Captain George Prince.

  Was it illegal to marry a deceased spouse's sibling in October  1796?





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