Posted on Feb 5, 2017
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On this day in 1777, Georgia formally adopts a new state constitution and becomes the first U.S. state to abolish the inheritance practices of primogeniture and entail.
Primogeniture ensured that the eldest son in a family inherited the largest portion of his father’s property upon the father’s death. The practice of entail, guaranteeing that a landed estate remain in the hands of only one male heir, was frequently practiced in conjunction with primogeniture. (Virginia abolished entail in 1776, but permitted primogeniture to persist until 1785.)
Georgians restructured inheritance laws in Article LI of the state’s constitution by abolishing entail in all forms and proclaiming that any person who died without a will would have his or her estate divided equally among their children; the widow shall have a child’s share, or her dower at her option.
The British colonies in North America, and particularly the southern colonies, were known as a haven for younger sons of the British gentry. Most famously, Benjamin Franklin announced in his autobiography that he was the youngest Son of the youngest Son for 5 Generations back. Moving to the colonies was an attractive option for younger sons like Franklin because there younger sons could take their monetary inheritance and build up their own estates, whereas primogeniture and entail prevented them from inheriting similar estates in the mother country.
Christine C Cullinan COL Mikel J. Burroughs COL Lee Flemming LTC Stephen F. LTC (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan SGT Robert George SFC William Farrell SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL ] PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SrA Christopher Wright SGT John " Mac " McConnell SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt (Join to see) SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM 1stSgt Chris Schmidt SFC George Smith
Primogeniture ensured that the eldest son in a family inherited the largest portion of his father’s property upon the father’s death. The practice of entail, guaranteeing that a landed estate remain in the hands of only one male heir, was frequently practiced in conjunction with primogeniture. (Virginia abolished entail in 1776, but permitted primogeniture to persist until 1785.)
Georgians restructured inheritance laws in Article LI of the state’s constitution by abolishing entail in all forms and proclaiming that any person who died without a will would have his or her estate divided equally among their children; the widow shall have a child’s share, or her dower at her option.
The British colonies in North America, and particularly the southern colonies, were known as a haven for younger sons of the British gentry. Most famously, Benjamin Franklin announced in his autobiography that he was the youngest Son of the youngest Son for 5 Generations back. Moving to the colonies was an attractive option for younger sons like Franklin because there younger sons could take their monetary inheritance and build up their own estates, whereas primogeniture and entail prevented them from inheriting similar estates in the mother country.
Christine C Cullinan COL Mikel J. Burroughs COL Lee Flemming LTC Stephen F. LTC (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan SGT Robert George SFC William Farrell SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL ] PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SrA Christopher Wright SGT John " Mac " McConnell SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt (Join to see) SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM 1stSgt Chris Schmidt SFC George Smith
Georgia constitution abolishes primogeniture and entail - Feb 05, 1777 - HISTORY.com
Posted from history.comPosted in these groups: 
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Country of Georgia American History
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 4
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Thanks for reminding us TSgt Joe C. that in 1777, Georgia formally adopted a new state constitution and became the first U.S. state to abolish the inheritance practices of:
1. primogeniture ensured that the eldest son in a family inherited the largest portion of his father’s property upon the father’s death; and
2. entail guaranteed that a landed estate remained in the hands of only one male heir.
1. primogeniture ensured that the eldest son in a family inherited the largest portion of his father’s property upon the father’s death; and
2. entail guaranteed that a landed estate remained in the hands of only one male heir.
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