Youngest someone could be a purchaser on an Estate (find)

[historyfan]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

That might have been the minimum age of marriage with consent of parents/guardians, but I doubt very much it was the min age without consent.

Here is the whole article. Somewhere in it mentions ages of consent, which was a shocker.

Law, Children and the - Early America, After the Revolution, Industrial America, Liberal America, Conclusion - Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society

[AlaskaAma]

I think the first item is "one ax." That repeated symbol seems to be functioning as both @ (for the prices) and an ampersand.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by historyfan

Here is the whole article. Somewhere in it mentions ages of consent, which was a shocker.

Law, Children and the - Early America, After the Revolution, Industrial America, Liberal America, Conclusion - Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society

It doesn't specify whether it's talking about with or without parental consent, unfortunately. The link that Suzy provided early says of colonial America:

"Under British common law, full majority was reached at the age of 21. Anyone under 21 was legally an infant. Only persons who had reached majority could perform certain legal actions:
Marry without parental consent"

So 21 was when people could marry without parental consent, but it sounds like 12/14 was the age girls/boys (respectively) could marry only with parental consent, which is what I suspected.

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by Alandros

I was curious the youngest someone could be a purchaser on an estate. Specifically if I see someone who purchased multiple items from an estate in North Carolina in 1767 what age minimum would that likely imply, if at all?

Originally Posted by historyfan

In general colonial America used English law...adulthood was 21.

But lawful age for marriage of female was 12 & male was 14.


However, women over 21 were not considered independent adults unless they had been married and then widowed & not re-married. Either their husbands or fathers held the property and assets & made the financial decisions.

Marriage constituted emancipation, then as now.

All States, except Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Mississippi, put adulthood at age 18. It's 19 years in Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming, and Mississippi at 21 years. However, many States still allow women to marry at age 15 or 16, and having done so, they are an emancipated minor and can legally enter into contracts which can be enforced. The same is true for a 16 or 17 year male who marries and is then an emancipated minor.

Even so, most women were barred from entering into contracts until the late 1800s, and it wasn't until the 1970s that women were allowed to have their own independent credit histories.

Most banks wouldn't issue a credit card to a woman, they'd only issue it to the husband, and the woman could have a card under her husband's name. If he died, the bank may or may not have allowed the woman to keep the credit card. There were changes to the laws in the 1970s that allowed women to have their own separate independent credit histories, and much of that came with changes in divorce laws, too.

[daliowa]

Is it Jacob Bethney that you're interested in?


Try searching his name at www.familysearch.org which is a free site with a wide variety of databases for genealogists.


You may find something there to help pin down his year of birth.

[historyfan]

This is cool. From archive.org

Full text of "Stub entries to indents issued in payment of claims against South Carolina growing out of the Revolution"

N°. 387
Book R

Issued the I s . of June 1785 to Mr Jacob Bethany for Forty Six Pounds Twelve Shillings and five Pence Sterling for duty as Commissary in Sumpters Brigade and for 22 days as Lieutenant and for Fodder in 1781 and 1782 p r . Account Audited Principal £46-12—5 — Annual Interest £3-5-3 —


Also, his name comes up on several entries on google books. I searched Jacob Bethany & North Carolina.

[suzy_q2010]

Originally Posted by daliowa

Is it Jacob Bethney that you're interested in?


Try searching his name at www.familysearch.org which is a free site with a wide variety of databases for genealogists.


You may find something there to help pin down his year of birth.

Originally Posted by historyfan

This is cool. From archive.org

Full text of "Stub entries to indents issued in payment of claims against South Carolina growing out of the Revolution"

N°. 387
Book R

Issued the I s . of June 1785 to Mr Jacob Bethany for Forty Six Pounds Twelve Shillings and five Pence Sterling for duty as Commissary in Sumpters Brigade and for 22 days as Lieutenant and for Fodder in 1781 and 1782 p r . Account Audited Principal £46-12—5 — Annual Interest £3-5-3 —


Also, his name comes up on several entries on google books. I searched Jacob Bethany & North Carolina.

That is not the person the OP is primarily interested in. Bethney was just also a buyer at the estate auction.

[PA2UK]

Yeah, he's looking for Isham Langley.

[historyfan]

Originally Posted by suzy_q2010

That is not the person the OP is primarily interested in. Bethney was just also a buyer at the estate auction.

My apologies.
Isham is included in this volume--


Edgefield County, South Carolina: Minutes of the County Court, 1785-1795
Southern Historical Press, Jan 1, 1979 - Law - 200 pages

"These Court Minutes are the earliest extant records from this crucial South Carolina county. Many persons left Edgefield and migrated across the Savannah River into Georgia and other states West. In these records are listings of more than 175 early deeds which cannot now be loctaed! This makes these probably the most valuable court minutes in all of South Carolina. Also Edgefield was one of the largest counties in South Carolina at the time, comprising all or part of the present counties of: Edgefield, Saluda, Aiken, Greenwood, and McCormick."

[Alandros]

Originally Posted by historyfan

My apologies.
Isham is included in this volume--


Edgefield County, South Carolina: Minutes of the County Court, 1785-1795
Southern Historical Press, Jan 1, 1979 - Law - 200 pages

"These Court Minutes are the earliest extant records from this crucial South Carolina county. Many persons left Edgefield and migrated across the Savannah River into Georgia and other states West. In these records are listings of more than 175 early deeds which cannot now be loctaed! This makes these probably the most valuable court minutes in all of South Carolina. Also Edgefield was one of the largest counties in South Carolina at the time, comprising all or part of the present counties of: Edgefield, Saluda, Aiken, Greenwood, and McCormick."

Thanks, sorry I didn't respond sooner. I am looking for Isham Langley. Thanks for the reference, just ordered the book. I have multiple records for Isham in South Carolina including purchasing land from Josiah Langley in Edgefield in 1805, though I haven't seen this so will be interesting to see what the reference is. Doesn't hurt to have another good reference book too, was only $12 on Amazon so can't argue that.