Emancipation of Underage Sons 1885

Parents sometimes emancipated an underage child, allowing the child to act for himself as if he were of legal age. These emancipations may be found among the county court order books (court minutes) or in the deed books. The following emancipations are recorded in Crittenden County Court Order Book 8 (1885-1887).

“This day came S.N. Marvel and upon his motion, and it appearing to the court that S.N. Marvel is the Father of B.G. Marvel, a male under twenty one years of age and being now in his nineteenth year of age, and it further appearing that S.N. Marvel desires to & moves the Court for an order Emancipating his Son B.G. Marvel and vesting B.G. Marvel with the title to certain property which appears to the Court to have been acquired by the industry of B.G. Marvel & here in after and the Court being sufficiently advised, It is therefore ordered by the Court that B.G. Marvel be & he is hereby Emancipated & set free from his Father S.N. Marvel & that he the sd. B.G. Marvel is the owner of one Iron Gray filly, one year old, Two Sows & Eleven pigs each, sd. sows are both black, one has white spots & the other yellowish spots, And Four acres of Tobacco, now growing on the farm of S.N. Marvel in Crittenden Co, Ky. Free from any & all Claims of S.N. Marvel.” [1]

“On motion,  R.S. Binkley appeared in open Court and asked the Court to make an order on its public record Emancipating his son, R.E. Binkley. It is therefore ordered by the Court that R.E. Binkley, son of R.S. Binkley, be and is Emancipated & released from the Services of his father, R.S. Binkley and that he is authorized to act, Hold property, Trade & do for him Self free from the control of his father, as though he was twenty one years of age, and any property that he may acquire by his labour & skill shall be enjoyed by him & his assigns free from the control of his Father R.S. Binkley.”[2]

 

 

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[1] Crittenden County Court Order Book 8, pp 64-65, 15 July 1885.

[2] Crittenden County Court Order Book 8, p 128, 14 Dec 1885.

Published 16 Sep 2021, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/