Guardianship Appointment to Persis Sheldon

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From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information


About this item

A child was considered a minor until he/she attained the age of 21. When John Sheldon died in August of 1806, the court of Massachusetts, on January 6, 1807, appointed his widow, Persis, to be the legal guardian of their two minor children, Seth, born in 1787, and Polly, born in 1794. It is important to note that guardianship was understood as a financial, rather than an emotional, relationship. The widow needed the official warrant even if she was the children’s biological mother; it was not uncommon to appoint a male relative of the deceased father as guardian.

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Details

Item typeLegal Documents
AuthorHenshaw, Samuel
Date1807-01-06
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicFamily, Children, Marriage, Courtship
Politics, Government, Law, Civics
EraThe New Nation, 1784–1815
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPrinting; Handwriting
Dimension detailsProcess Material: printed paper, ink with manuscript Height: 5.50 in Width: 7.75 in
Catalog #L99.176
View this item in our curatorial database →
Henshaw, Samuel. Guardianship Appointment to Persis Sheldon. January 6, 1807. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l99-176/. Accessed on October 10, 2024.

Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.