Kiracofe is right. Nee = "born" and is placed after the name of a married woman to introduce her _maiden_ name, not the surname of her first husband. Ie Wayles not Skelton. He and Hardwick and others are also right that women were recognized as having souls, and that they were persons not property. Indeed back in 1974 Edmund Morgan popularized the recognition that 17th century Virginia women may have enjoyed greater autonomy than their English sisters. ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html