Entails
Entails were legal arrangements by which ownership of land was confined within a single family, passing at death from generation to generation. Known in legal jargon as a "fee tail," an entailed estate was limited to a person and his biological heirs. Developed in medieval England, entails were well known in colonial North Carolina. The state's first constitution directed the General Assembly to legislate against entails, and a law was passed in 1784 that has remained in force.
Reference:
John V. Orth, "Does the Fee Tail Exist in North Carolina?" Wake Forest Law Review 23 (1988).
Additional Resources:
Acts of the North Carolina General Assembly, 1784, DocSouth, UNC Libraries: https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr24-001
1 January 2006 | Orth, John V.