Читать книгу The Historical Child - Oscar Chrisman - Страница 59

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It appears that the property was divided in earlier times equally among the sons upon the death of their father. Yet there was a joint system where all lived together and the eldest son supplied the place of the father, receiving all the property and then caring for all the others of the family. At one time it was the custom for a daughter to get one-fourth as much as a son, and at another time each son gave to the daughter one-fourth of his share. As was stated above, when a son was adopted, he renounced all claim to what his natural father might leave on his death, while he became the full heir of his adopted father and upon his death got all that he might leave.

The right of inheritance and the duty of presiding at a man's obsequies belonged one with the other. When a man died without leaving direct descendants, if he was wealthy a crowd of relatives appeared and great disputes often arose as to whom belonged the honor of conducting the funeral rites. But if he was poor, and burdened with debts, then the survivors took every possible care to disprove near relationship.