Many years ao I heard Bob Clay from the LVA give a talk on this subject. He said that marriage to a deceased spouse's sibling did not happen in VA, and it was one reason why some couples from VA were married in NC. I have also read that Thomas Harris Campbell, a legislator from Nottoway County, introduced a motion to have the law repealed so that his father, Dr. Archibald A. Campbell, could marry his deceased wife's sister Martha Epes. It passed, and they were married in Sept. 1850. Ann Avery Hunter Winston-Salem, NC ----- Original Message ----- From: "Henry Wiencek" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 3:04 PM Subject: [VA-HIST] Marriage law & Incest (yikes!) I was surprised to read in Annette Gordon-Reed's book on the Hemingses that in the early 19th century Virginia outlawed marriage between a man and his deceased wife's sister, on the grounds that marrying a sister-in-law was incest by affinity (not by blood). I don't know the text of the law, but presumably the reverse was also true: a widow could not marry her brother-in-law. It's my impression that in the earlier days such marriages were relatively common in Virginia. My question for the lawyers on the list is: does anyone know when Virginia repealed this ban - or is it still on the books? Would Virginia have recognized such a marriage if it had been solemnized in another state or country? Henry Wiencek ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html