This Indenture made this 16 Jany A D One thousand Eight hundred & thirty two by and between John Jones Sr
& Lydia Jones his wife of the one part and John Watkins Sr
of the other part Witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum one hundred
& twenty dollars secured, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged sd
[said]
John Jones and Lydia his wife have sold to John Watkins; the West half of the South west qr.[quarter] of Sect.[Section] twenty in Township 18th No of range 7 west
<Page 2>
in the district of lands subject to sale at Springfield Illinois containing 80 acres1To have and to hold the above 80 acres of lands with all the appurtenances and immunities
belonging thereto forever sd
John Jones and Lydia his wife relinquish their claim from themselves their heirs &c
[etc.] to John Watkins his heirs &c
2Given under our hands this day and date above written
John Jones
seal
Lydia Jones
seal
[ docketing
]
04/09/1832
04/09/1832
Recorded April 9th 1832.
[ certification
]
01/30/1832
01/30/1832
State of Illinois
Sangamon County
Sangamon County
Personally before the undersigned an acting Justice of the Peace for the County and State aforesaid John Jones and Lydia his wife and acknowledged granting of the within Deed to be their voluntary act and
deed for the purposes therein expressed and Lydia Jones wife of sd.[said] John Jones being by me examined separate and apart from her husband and by me acquainted with
the contents therein freely acknowledged the signing thereof to her voluntarily act
and deed without the compulsion of her husband
Given under my hand and seal this 30th January 1832
Bowling Green
J P[Justice of the Peace]
S C.
2“Dower” is a term that refers to the legally protected lifetime right of a woman to
one-third of her husband’s lands and personal property. Dower was intended to provide
for the support of a widow and her children. Because of this, a husband could not
convey property without the consent of his wife.
Christopher A. Schnell, “Wives, Widows, and Will Makers: Woman and the Law of Property,”
in In Tender Consideration: Women, Families, and the Law in Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003), 129, 133; Joan R. Gundersen, “Women
and Inheritance in America,” in Robert K. Miller Jr. and Stephen J. McNamee, eds.,
Inheritance and Wealth in America (New York: Springer Science and Business Media, 1998), 94.
Handwritten Transcription, 2 page(s), Sangamon County Deed Book E2, 433-34, Illinois Regional Archives Depository, University of Illinois at Springfield (Springfield, Illinois) ,