state,

of dowe to

for every other purpose as if she were an unmarried Relinquish woman. If the dwelling of the wife be not in the Uniment of dow ted States of America, the commission to examine her er how taken out of the privily aud take her acknowledgment, shall be directed to any two judges or justices of any court of law, or to the mayor, or other chief magistrate of any city, town, or corporation of the county in which the wife shall dwell, and may be executed by them in the same manner as a commission directed to two justices in the United States of America; and the certificate of the Judges or justices of such court, or the certificate of such mayor or chief magistrate, authenticated in the form, and with the solemnity by them used in other acts, shall be as effectual as the like certificate of the justices in the United States of America. Deeds of re- The clerk of every court shall record all writings acinquishment knowledged, or proved before such court, or certified be recorded. to have been acknowledged or proved, in manner before prescribed, together with the commissions for privily examining and taking the acknowledgments of married women, and all endorsements on such writings, and plots, schedules, and other papers thereto annexed, by entering them, word for word, in well bound books, to be carefully preserved, and afterwards re-deliver them to the parties entitled to them; and shall moreover make a docket of all such writings, containing the dates thereof, and of the acknowledgments and probats, the names, sur-names, and addiMemorials to tions of the parties thereto, in alphabetical order, and the quantities and situations of land, numbers and names of slaves, and decriptions of personal estate conveyed thereby; and the clerk of every county court shall transmit such docket made by him to the clerk of the general court, in every April and October term, to be recorded by him. Every estate in lands or Fee tail con- slayes, which on the seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, was an estate in fee tail, shall be deemed from that time to have been, and from thence forward to continue, an estate in fee simple; and every estate in lands, which since hath been limited, or hereafter shall be limited, so that as the law aforetime was, such estate would have been an estate tail, shall also be deemed to have been and to continue an estate in fee Discharged of conditions simple: And all estates, which before the said seventh

Originals to be re-deliv. ered to par

ties.

be transmit.

ted to clerk of general

court.

verted into

simple.

Words of

day of October, one thousand seven hundred and se- at common venty-six, by the law, if it remained unaltered, would law. have been estates in fee tail, and which now, by virtue of this act, are and will be estates in fee simple, shall from that time and henceforth be discharged of the conditions annexed thereto by the common law, restraining alienations before the donee shall have issues, so that the donees or persons in whom the conditional fees vested, or shall vest, had, and shall have, the same power over the same estates as if they were pure and absolute fees. Every estate in lands which shall hereafter be granted, conveyed or devised to one, al- perpety, though other words heretofore necessary to transfer an unnecessar estate of inheritance be not added, shall be deemed a fee simple, if a less estate be not limited by express words, or do not appear to have been granted, conveyed or devised, by construction or operation of law. Where an estate hath been or shall be by any convey- Remainder ance limited in remainder to the son or daughter, or to the use of the son or daughter of any person, to be be gotten, such son or daughter, born after the decease of his or her father, shall take the estate in the same manner as if he or she had been born in the life time of the father, although no estate shall have been conveyed to support the contingent remainder after his death.By deed of bargain and sale, or by deeds of lease and release, or by covenant, to stand seized to use, or deed operating by way of covenant, to stand seized to use, the possession of the bargainer, releaser, or covenanter, shall be deemed heretofore to have been, and hereafter to be transferred, to the bargainee, releasee, or person entitled to the use, for the estate or interest which such person hath or shall have in the use, as perfectly as if such bargainee, releasee, or person entitled to the use, had been enfeoffed with livery of seizin of the land intended to be conveyed by such deed or covenant. Estates of every kind, holden or possessed in trust, shall be subject to like debts and charges of the persons to whose use or for whose benefit they were, or shall be respectively holden or possessed, as they would have been subject to if those persons had owned the like interest in the things holden or possessed, as they own or shall own in the uses or trusts thereof. Where any person to whose use, or in trust for whose benefit, another is or shall be seized of lands,

Truste

Nower, curtesy.

tenements, or hereditaments, hath or shall have such inheritance in the use or trust as that if it had been a legal right, the husband or wife of such person would thereof have been entitled to curtesy or dower, such husband or wife shall have and hold, and may by the remedy proper in similar cases, recover curtesy or dower of such lands, tenements, or hereditaments.Grants of rents, or of reversions, or remainders, shall Attornment. be good and effectual without attornments of the tenants, but no tenant who, before uotice of the grant, shall have paid the rent to the grantor, shall suffer any damage thereby. The attornment of a tenant to any stranger, shall be void, unless it be with consent of the land-lord of such tenant, or pursuant to, or in consequence of the judgment of a court of law, or the order or decree of a court of equity.

Commence

11. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.

From Rev. Bills of 1779, ch. XXIV.

ed.

Escheators,

I.

CHAP. LXIII.

An act concerning escheators.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That how appoint there shall be one escheator commissioned in every county, by the governor, on recommendation from Bond and se- the court of the same county, who shall execute his curity. Not act by office in proper person, and not by deputy, and shall, before the court of the county, be bound in the penalty of one thousand pounds, with security, to be approved by the same court, duly to perform the duties of the said office.

deputy.

ken.

Inquests,

II. The said escheator shall sit in convenient and open how to be ta- places, and shall take his inquests of fit persons, who shall be returned and empannelled by the sheriff of the county, and shall suffer every person to give evidence openly in their presence, to such inquests; and the said inquisition so taken, shall be, by indentures to be made between the said escheator and them of the inquest, whereof the counter-part, sealed by the escheator, shall remain in the possession of the first person

Traverse,

that shall be sworn in the said jury, and by him shall be returned to the court of the same county, there to be recorded; and the other part, sealed by the jurors, shall by the escheator, be sent into the general court, within one month after the inquest taken. And if it be found for the commonwealth, and there shall be any man monstrans de that will make claim to the lands, he shall be heard droit. without delay, on a traverse to the office, monstrans de droit, or petition of right; and the said lands or tenements shall be committed to him, if he shew good evidence of his right and title to hold, until the right shall be found and discussed for the commonwealth, or for the party finding sufficient surety to prosecute his suit with effect, and to render and pay to the commonwealth the yearly value of the lands, if the right be discussed for the commonwealth.

III. No lands or tenements seized into the hands of Lands, found this commonwealth upon such inquest taken before es- for commoncheators, shall be in any wise granted, nor to farm wealth, how let, to any, if it be not to him or them which claim, as main in hands is aforesaid, till the same inquests and verdicts be fully of escheator. returned into the general court, nor within six months after the same return, but shall entirely and continually remain in the hands of the escheators, who shall answer to the commonwealth the issues and profits yearly coming of the said lands and tenements, without doing waste or destruction.

When and

IV. If no person within the six months before mentioned make claim to the lands or tenements so seized, how sold or claim being so made, if it be found and discussed for the commonwealth, the clerk of the general court shall, within one month thereafter, certify to the escheator of the county wherein the lands lie, that no claim hath been made, or that being made, it hath been discussed for the commonwealth, which escheator shall thereupon proceed to make sale of the lands, for the benefit of the commonwealth, to him who will give the most, after one month's public notice of the time and place of doing the same, and shall certify the purchaser and price to the register of the land-office, who, on receiving a certificate that such price hath been paid into the treasury, shall have a grant executed to the purchaser, in such manner as by law directed in the case of unappropriated lands.

Saving rights of others.

Inquests, un truly found remedy.

Commencement of act.

V. Where any person holds lands or tenements for a term of years, or hath any rent, common, office, fee, or other profit apprender of any estate of freehold, or for years or otherwise, out of such land or tenements, which shall not be found in such office or inquisition, such person shall hold and enjoy his lease, interest, rent, common, office, fee, and profit apprender, in manner as if no such office or inquisition had been found, or as if such lease, interest, rent, common, office, or profit apprender had been found in such inquisition. Also, if one person or more be found heir by office or inquisition in one county, and another person be found heir to the same person in another county, or if any person be untruly found lunatic, ideot, or dead, or where it shall be untruly found that any person attainted of treason or felony, is seized of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, at the time of such treason or felony committed, or at any time after, whereunto any other person hath any just title or interest of any estate of freehold, the person grieved by such office or inquisition may have his traverse or monstrans de droit to the same, without being driven to any petition of right, and proceed to trial therein, and have like remedy and restitution upon his title found or judged for him therein, as in other cases of traverse upon untrue inquisition found.

VI. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.

From Rev. Bills of 1779, ch. XXV.

Certain con

tracts not binding uu. less in wri

ting.

CHAP. LXIV.

An act to prevent frauds and perjuries.

1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That no action shall be brought whereby to charge any executor or administrator upon any special promise to answer any debt or damages out of bis own estate, or