1842

FRANCIS THOMAS, ESQUIRE, GOVERNOR.

CHAP. 294,

by the joint deed of the husband and wife, executed, proved
and recorded agreeably to the laws now in force in regard
to the conveyance of real estate of feme coverts and not
otherwise.

Wife may
make a will,

&c.

Provisoes.

SEC. 6.. And be it enacted, That a wife shall have a
right to make a will and give all her property or any part
thereof to her husband, and to other persons with the con-
sent of the husband subscribed to said will; provided al-
ways, that the wife shall have been privately examined by
the witnesses to her will, apart and out of the presence and
hearing of her husband, whether she doth make the same
will freely and voluntarily and without being induced there-
to by fear or threats of or ill usage by said husband, and
says she does it willingly and freely; provided that no will
under this act shall be valid unless made at least sixty days
before the death of the testatrix.

Husband to
have slaves re-
corded.

SEC. 7. And be it enacted, That from and after the pas-
sage of this act it shall be the duty of every man whose
wife shall have either property in slaves in possession, or
shall receive the same in any way provided by this act,
to record the same, their names and ages upon the records
of counties in which he may reside.

Married wo-
man earning
$1000 may
hold it for her
own use.

SEC. 8. And be it enacted, That any married woman
who by her skill, industry or personal labour, shall hereaf-
ter earn any money or other property, real personal or
mixed to the value of one thousand collars or less, shall and
may hold the same and the fruits, increase and profits there-
of, to her sole and separate use with power as a feme sole
to invest and re-invest, and sell and dispose of the same;

Proviso.

provided, that such money or property shall be liable for
the payment of any claim or debt incurred by such mar-
ried woman, and be liable to be proceeded against by at-
tachment from the county court to compel such payment
upon petition and proof of claim according to the circum-
stances of each case, according to the course of the at-
tachment law.

CHAPTER 294.

Passed March
10, 1843.

An act entitled, An act declaratory of the act of the Gene-
ral Assembly, passed at December session eighteen hun-
dred and forty-one, chapter three hundred and twenty-five.

Preamble.

WHEREAS it appears to the general assembly that doubts
are entertained as to the true construction of the act of the