A curious crowd gathered in the South Salon to hear Harmony Hall’s own board of trustee member Ken Linsner share his research he fondly titled for the event, "Till Death Do Us Part!" The presentation was prefaced by a short talk given by board president Andrea LaMantia who acknowledged Women’s History Month by outlining the various legislation of the 1830-1870 period which affected wives and their rights or lack thereof! Ken Linsner then proceeded to briefly go over the process used by Sarah Sloat to obtain administration of her late husband's estate in 1857. He had died without a will which set up a chain of paperwork and bonding that ended two years later with her being appointed and then released from her duties as executrix. The journey took us through the type of property owned by Sloat upon his death and how that was divided between the heirs and the widow. An interesting coda was that the Sloats in 1857 had the economic status of a family worth $30 million in 2023 dollars. Conversations ensued as guests enjoyed refreshments and strolled about the mansion.
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