Widow
On a Facebook group to which I belong, we are discussing this:
"A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations" :
Widow: In the 1700s (widow) was used to indicate a woman living alone on private means. At that time it did not always indicate that the woman had been previously married . Old records such as Widow Jane Smith, Spinster can be confusing"
Family historians, beware of assuming that widows were previously married.
In a similar vein, the first time I came across "Mrs" as a courtesy title was for the marriage of my ancestors Mrs Sarah Williams and Mr James Barker in 1690. Sarah was a minor and her father was the Rev. John Williams, personal chaplain to King William and Queen Mary and later Bishop of Chichester.
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