This Indenture made this 19 day of June AD 1835 between Alexander Latimer and Eunice Jane his wife of the County of Sangamon and state of Illinois of the one part and Henry Anno of the Co and state afosaid of the other part Witnesseth That the said Alexandr Latine and Eunce Jane his wife for and in consideration of the sum of one thousand Dollars to them in hand
paid the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have granted bargained and sold and
by these presents do grant bargain and sell all their right title interest and estate
in and to the following tracts or parcels of land (vis) the N[North] ½ of the SW[Southwest] ¼ & the E[East] ½ and SW[Southwest] ¼ of the NW[Northwest] ¼ of Sec 22 and N fourth of the NE[Northeast] ¼ of Sec 27 all in township 19 N of R[Range] 7 W[West] containing in the whole two hundred and forty acres To have and to hold unto the
said Henry anno his heirs and assigns forever the above described tracts of land together with all
and singular the privleges and appurtenances thereunto belongingIn testimony whereof the said Alexander Latimer and Eunie Jane his wife have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year above written1
Alexandr Latimer
seal
Eunie J Latimr
seal
[ certification
]
06/19/1835
06/19/1835
State of Illinois
Sangamon County
Sangamon County
Personally came Alexander Latimer & Enuie Jane his wife before the undersigned an acting Justice of Peace for the Co an[d] State aforesad both personally known to said Justice to be the iden[ti]cal persons that executed the foregoing deed and acknowledged sd[said] deed to be their act and deed for the purposes therein expressed & Eunice Jane Latimer being by me examined separate and from her said husband and by me made acquainted contents of said deed freely acknowledged
sd deed as a Relinquishment of her Dower without the compulsion or persuasion of her
husbandGiven under my hand and seal this 19 day of June 18352
Bowling Green
J P[Justice of the Peace]
seal
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, 393, Illinois Regional Archives Depository, University of Illinois at Springfield (Springfield, Illinois) ,