Solving a Puzzle

Several months ago, ACGS received a letter asking for help solving a puzzle. I must first state that the names and some towns have been changed so the person who requested the help remains unknown. The letter told about the author’s great grandmother Barbara Wright and asked why was a man named Jason Allen also […]

Words of Wisdom From Mark Twain, Part Seven

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been. The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in […]

“Femes soles” means women alone: unmarried, widowed, or divorced. They had a lot more rights than a feme covert. “Feme covert” means married woman. Back in Europe, women did have guilds they could belong to. Perhaps there are still lists that can be researched.

*From research at library.hbs.edu. (Harvard Business School) Read about the rights or lack thereof of women in Women, Enterprise & Society. It is about Women and the Law with sections on marriage, covertures, trusts, guardianship, living in poverty, and slavery. They have historical collections listed, and that may give you ideas on research.

*From research such as The Great Courses, The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World by Prof. Robert Garland comes this: In 3100 BC, Egypt women could have businesses, work the land, make and sell things, etc. They could also own land, inherit, make bequests, sue, be on juries and testify.

Speaking with a cousin today, he related how when he was in high school, he and a friend were riding around in Moro Plt. in the mid-60s and saw an old house they wanted to check out. The house turned out to be a town office. The building was falling down, and they saw tax […]