This Indenture made this 25 day of April AD 1835 between John Jones Senr and Lydia his wife of the County of Sangamon and State of Illinois of the one part and John Jones Jr of the County and Ste[State] aforesaid of the other part Witnesseth That the said John Jones Sen & Lydia his wife for a good consideration have given and bequeathed and by these presents do give and bequeath unto the said John Jones Jr his heirs and assigns forever (excepting the wife of the said John Jones Jr who shall have the benefits thereof durig[during] her widowhood if any therebe and no longer) all their right title interest and estate into the SE[Southeast] ¼ of SW[Southwest] quarter of Section 27[,] the S[South] ½ of the SE quarter of Sec[Section] 28[,] the N.W.[Northwest] ¼ of the NW ¼ of Sec 33 all in township 19 N.[North] of Range 7 West the said John Jones Sir and Lydia his wife reserving to themselves the possion[possession] the use and occupation of said tracts of Land dureg during both and each of their natural lives To have and to hold to the said John Jones Jun his heirs and assigns forever (with the exception and reservation above made) the above described tracts of land together with all and singular the prileges[privileges] and appurtenances thereunto belonging1
In testimony whereof the said John Jones Sen and Lydia his wife have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year above written
John Jones  seal 
her
Lydia X Jones
 seal 
mark
[ certification ]
Signed Sealed and delivrd[delivered] in presence of
Bowling Green A Lincoln
[ certification ]
04/27/1835
State of Illinois
Sangamon County
Personally came John Jones Sen & Lydia his wife before the undersigned an acting Justice of the peace for the County and state aforesaid both personally known to said Justice to be the identical persons that Executed foregoing deed for the purposes therein contained and Lydia Jones being by me examined separate from her husband and after being made acquainted with the contents hereof freely relinquished sd deed as a relinquishment of her dower without the compulsion or pursuasion of husbandGiven under my hand and seal this 27 day of April 18352
Bowling Green J P [Justice of the Peace]  seal 
[ docketing ]
08/06/1835
Recorded Aug 6 1835
E Mitchell
1The land described here all lays approximately three miles east of Atterberry in Menard County.
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, 1 page(s), Sangamon County Deed Book H, 365, Illinois Regional Archives Depository, University of Illinois at Springfield (Springfield, Illinois) ,