My understanding (which may not be correct) is that under primogeniture, the
estate always descended down and never upward, so the brother would have
inherited the property and not the father.  Also remember that the widow
only received a life interest in the land.  She could not dispose of it,
although I have seen records of widows selling their dower right to the
land.  When primogeniture was abolished in 1785 (?), fathers and mothers
came into the line of inheritance.

I have never found a really good source for this information and wish I
could find one.  I think the problem is that the laws changed over time so
when the estate was probated is critical.  Search Hening's Statutes for more
information- http://vagenweb.org/hening/

Laurie McKenna

On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 12:28 PM, Linda Sparks Starr
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> In the 1670s in Virginia when a man died intestate, leaving a widow but no
> children, who got the 2/3 of his property remaining after her dower portion
> was released to her -- his living father or his eldest brother?
>
>

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html