Marriage Settlement of Samuel Reed (1810-1877) and Sarah A. Larissey

This is a copy of the prenuptial agreement (scanned from the original*) stating that a marriage between Samuel Reed (1810-1877) and Sarah A. Larissey, his third wife, is going to happen soon.  Samuel owns a LOT of land (I counted 1546 acres "more or less") and quite a few worldly possessions that Sarah will have no right to should she survive Samuel.  That's it, plain and simple.  Most of the document is a listing of Samuel's lands and earthly possessions.  Such agreements were not uncommon then; nor are they now.

The first two witnesses listed were brothers from the Blackville area:  Dr. Samuel Daniel Medicus "Sam" Guess (1836-1935), a dentist, and John Gardner Hamilton "Joe" Guess (1834-1918), a planter.  The third witness was Samuel's nephew Henry Samuel Fickling (1826-1903), son of Jane Elizabeth Reed (Hugh & Jane's daughter) and Rev. William Johnson Fickling. 

* Many thanks go to Barbara Holloway Smith, a 5-great granddaughter of Samuel and Mary Reed.  She called me recently and offered to share this marriage settlement.  Barbara has an original of this document!  And that's not all ... I'll share more about that at a later date. 

Barbara's lineage:  Samuel Reed and Mary Clark > Hugh Reed and Jane McSpeddon > Samuel Reed and Matilda Willis > Cyrena Kesiah Reed and William Capers Milhous > John Henry Eliott Milhous and Mary Ann Perry > Julia Norris Milhous and Walter Stewart Peterson > Susan Caroline Peterson and William Jordan Holloway > Barbara Holloway Smith

Thank you so very much, Barbara, for sharing with all your cousins.  "By and For the Descendants ..." at the top of this page is what it's all about!