Property and Gender in the Inheritance Patterns of a Southern Appalachian Community: Boone County,West Virginia,1865-1924

Abstract

This article reviews the wills recorded in a rural county in southern West Virginia over a seven-decade period. It analyzes changes through time in the division of property by gender and implications about the meaning of gender within the context of the history of the United States and the women’s movement. The analysis is grounded in studies of Southern Appalachian culture and argues briefly for an ecological model in the examination of inheritance and property distribution.

Keywords

cultural studies—United States gender studies—gender roles family studies—inheritance patterns inheritance patterns—United States Southern Appalachia—culture Southern Appalachia—customs

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