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? Administratrix: a woman assigned by the court to administer an estate where there is no valid will
? Concubine: a woman who lives with a man to whom she is not married
? Consort: companion; term for when the woman predeceased her husband
? Dower: a legal provision for a woman’s support and that of her children after her husband’s death; typically one-third of the husband’s property; also known as “widow’s thirds”
? Dowry: property the bride brings to her marriage
? Executrix: the woman named in a will to distribute the estate
? Grass widow: a woman whose husband had deserted her; also used to refer to a woman who has illegitimate children or to a discarded common-law wife
From the Source
Look for these family items, which are primary sources typically created by women:
• needlework, quilts, linens, other textiles
• diaries, letters
• family Bibles
• recipe books, which may contain more than Mom’s apple pie recipe. You may also find folk remedies for illnesses and “recipes” for household cleansers.
• household ledgers, recording her weekly or monthly budget, or other important things she wanted to remember: addresses, birth dates, anniversaries, etc.
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