Henry The prohibition is in Henings May 1730 chap II p. 245, which refers to the "levitical degrees prohibited by the laws of England.." An almost identical statute was reenacted in 1788 Dec. 8 1788 chap XXXII p. 688. The current statute enacted in 1975 is in 20-38.1, which does not contain the prohibition. I don't have the codes at hand to trace back to see whether this prohibition was earlier dropped. Richard Dixon -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Henry Wiencek Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 3:05 PM To: [log in to unmask] 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 My question for the lawyers on the list is: does anyone know when Virginia repealed this ban - or is it still on the books?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 ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html