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"If you can't stand the skeletons, stay out of the closet" - Val D Greenwood

Hi all,

I have a deed in which Josiah and Ann Elizabeth sell land and the last line of this deed is as follows:

Josiah and Ann Elizabeth say that they stand "seized of an Indefeasable Estate of Inheritance in Fee Simple...

Josiah Hatcher
Ann Elizabeth Hatcher

Signed Sealed and Acknowldged
In Presents of Us 
Francis Maccrar 
Abraham Sallie
Wm Howard
Recorded 23 May 1757
------------------------------

Does the fact that Ann Elizabeth also signed this deed imply that it was SHE who inherited this land? If so, would she have inherited this land BEFORE she married Josiah? Perhaps I misunderstand colonial law, but it was my belief that single or widowed women could inherit land in their own right but that any inheritance a married woman might receive would automatically come under the control of her husband. If that's correct, why would Josiah need his wife to sign this deed?

Thanks!
Nel Hatcher