On Wed, 8 May 2002, James Hershman wrote: > > According to an attorney currently practicing in Bladen County, the term "free > trader" means that the husband is granting the wife the privilege of conveying > or mortgaging property without his signature. The husband is dropping dower > rights, called in the 19th century, "dower and courtesy". Hi Jim - You are right about "free trader." The husband is giving the wife the right to engage in buying and selling without her having to get his written permission each time. A husband did not have "dower" rights. Only wives had dower rights. A husband's rights in his wife's property were known as "curtesy" (not "courtesy". That had to do with interests that were inchoate during the wife's lifetime and became vested at her death. The husband who gave his wife "free trader" status may well have given up his curtesy interest, but while these issues overlap, they are not coextensive. Virginia Hench (law prof) To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html