Stuntz. 2005. His Hers & Theirs: Community Property Law in Spain and Early Texas, 147-169.

Which U.S. president made Texas annexation a prime issue in the 1844 election?

James K. Polk

In what year did Texas officially become a U.S. state?

1845

By 1850, what legal concept had Texas introduced to the rest of the United States?

Community property

How many times did Mexico invade Texas in 1842, refusing to acknowledge its independence?

Twice

Who negotiated an annexation treaty with the Republic of Texas under President Tyler that failed in the Senate (spring 1844)?

Secretary of State John C. Calhoun

Which 1844 presidential candidate avoided a direct stand on annexation, though most of his party opposed it?

Henry Clay (Whig)

How did Texas enter the Union per the February 28, 1845 joint resolution?

As a state, not a territory

Into how many states could Texas be divided under the 1845 joint resolution, if its people chose?

As many as five

Under the joint resolution, slavery would be allowed south of what line?

The 36° 30' line (Missouri Compromise line)

Who was president of the Republic of Texas when the annexation resolution was sent for approval?

Anson Jones

Which two foreign nations opposed annexation and persuaded Jones to delay?

Britain and France

When did the Texas annexation convention meet to vote on joining the U.S.?

July 1845

What was the main public opposition to annexation about?

Banking and creditors' rights

Who cast the lone vote against annexation, and why?

Richard Bache of Galveston County, because he'd vowed never to live in the same country as his ex-wife

Who presided over the convention and denounced banks, praising Jackson for opposing them?

Thomas Jefferson Rusk

Which delegate proposed the resolution that led to protecting family property from creditors/banks?

Nicholas Henry Darnell

What was the primary original purpose of the community property provision?

To keep creditors and banks from foreclosing on Texas property

What did Section 22 of the statehood constitution establish?

The homestead exemption from forced sale by creditors

Under the homestead clause, what could a married man not do without his wife's consent?

Sell (alienate) the family homestead

What did delegate James Davis say the "spirit of the age" opposed doing to a woman?

Taking her bed out from under her because of a worthless husband

Who chaired the judiciary committee and pushed for stronger wife's separate-property protections rooted in Spanish law?

John Hemphill

What did the Armstrong/Baylor minority report propose for widows, reflecting English common law?

A one-third life estate during widowhood

By what vote did the convention adopt the minority position over Hemphill's proposal?

30 to 19

What did Section 19 declare about property a wife owned before marriage or acquired after by gift, devise, or descent?

It remained her separate property

When did voters approve the constitution, and when did the Republic formally end?

Approved October 1845; Republic ended at a ceremony on February 19, 1846

What did the April 29, 1846 law require for a wife's separate property to be protected from her husband's creditors?

It had to be registered in the county where it was located (and where she lived, if different)

What was the purpose of the "privy examination" set out in the April 30, 1846 law?

To have the wife, apart from her husband, declare to an uninterested party (usually a notary) that she was selling property of her own free will, without pressure

What did Section 4 of the April 30, 1846 law do?

Repealed all previous laws regarding the wife's sale of property

Whose legal tradition did the privy examination concept originate from?

Spanish law

On April 4, 1846, what private law did the legislature pass regarding Samuel M. Parry and Elizabeth Neese?

It legalized their marriage and legitimated their eight children

How many laws regarding women's rights did the first Texas legislature pass?

Three

What did the intestate succession law of March 18, 1848 do regarding heirs?

Gave equal rights of inheritance to heirs of both genders, regardless of whether property came from father or mother

Under the 1848 intestate succession law, if the deceased had children, what share of the personal estate (excluding slaves) did the surviving spouse receive?

One-third

Under the 1848 law, what did the surviving spouse receive if the deceased had no living descendants?

All personal estate (except slaves) and a life estate in one-half of the land and slaves

What did the surviving spouse always receive first, before the rest of an intestate's property was distributed?

His or her half of the community property

What did Section 24 of the March 20, 1848 probate law require of a married woman acting as executrix or administratrix?

Her husband had to join her to get her bond

What did the 1848 law authorizing Sarah Ann Kelton to sell her own property reveal about her husband Oliver?

He had been confirmed a "lunatic" and could not manage the community business

What could Sarah Ann Kelton NOT do under the special 1848 act?

Sell any part of the community property or manage her husband's separate property

What law did the 1850 legislature pass concerning families?

"An Act to Prescribe the Mode of Adoption"

After the 1850 adoption act, who became responsible for registering adoptions?

County clerks

Under the 1850 adoption act, what was the limit on an adopted heir's inheritance by will?

No more than one-fourth of the adopter's estate

In H. C. McIntire v. Harriet C. Chappell, what did Chief Justice Hemphill rule about a husband's refusal to join his wife's lawsuit?

The husband's refusal could not take away the wife's right to sue

In Mitchell & Mitchell v. Wright, Administratrix, why did the husband refuse to join his wife's suit?

They were in the process of getting a divorce

What did Justice Lipscomb rule in Mitchell & Mitchell v. Wright regarding a married administratrix?

She had to be joined by her husband to act, per the 1848 law, even with a pending divorce

In Callahan v. Patterson and Patterson, why was the property sale voided?

Sarah Patterson had not undergone the required privy examination before the sale

In Callahan v. Patterson, what did Justice Lipscomb rule about the liability of the wife's separate property for her premarital debts?

It was liable, but only after community property and the husband's separate property had been used to support the family

Why did Chief Justice Hemphill dissent in Callahan v. Patterson?

He believed a wife should be able to convey her separate property to pay her own debts, even without a technically perfect privy examination

In McIntyre v. Chappell (Tennessee slave case), whose law did Justice Wheeler rule applied to the sale of the wife's slaves?

Tennessee law (the couple's domicile at the time of marriage), under which the slaves became the husband's property

In Cartwright v. Hollis and Wife, what did Chief Justice Hemphill decide about a wife's ability to sign a joint promissory note using her separate property?

If she voluntarily consented, she could be held to a contract for supplies benefiting her separate property

What did the Edrington v. Mayfield and Wife decision establish about gifts a wife received while temporarily outside Texas?

Texas law controlled, so the gift (a slave) remained her separate property and could not be seized for the husband's debts