Women, Kinship, and Inheritance: Northamptonshire 1543-1709

To assess the role of women in early modern society, this article will examine the evidence to be found contained in probate documents, in particular surviving wills. Historians have utilized the data contained within wills as a successful method to investigate kinship, inheritance, religion, and many other social patterns prevalent in the early modern period. 1 To undertake this study of women in early modern Northamptonshire, the evidence collected from the will documents will indicate, through the items bequeathed, where women fitted within the inheritance process, how this reflects on their role within early modern families and communities, and if there were any marked differences between the inheritance, kinship, and community patterns to be found between the wills of men and women.