Speculation sought on turn-of-century ancestors?

Question:Thomas Jefferson Long, b. Jan. 1841; d. and buried Aug. 1908 Franklin Co., TN.

Civil War service, Co. K, 32nd TN infantry. Wounded in GA in 1864 (minie ball through the right foot) which caused him lifelong pain and disability.

1885, m. Amanda L. Isbell, b. July 1862, d. Dec. 1899; probably bur. in Jackson Co., AL. The oldest daughter died of TB (as had Amanda); the two younger girls were raised in the convent at St. Mary's, Sewanee, in about 1903.

Questions: 1) We have several documents dealing with Amanda's father's estate. Although her sisters all sign along with their husbands, Amanda signs by herself as A.L. Long. Why?

2) Thomas had to sue to get Amanda's AL land released to him after her death. Why?

3) Amanda is likely buried here:

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/a...

Many of the women were buried under their birth names (Mary Smith, wife of J. Jones). Why?

I have some ideas on this myself but am curious what others may think.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Thomas Jefferson Long, b. Jan. 1841; d. and buried Aug. 1908 Franklin Co., TN.

Civil War service, Co. K, 32nd TN infantry. Wounded in GA in 1864 (minie ball through the right foot) which caused him lifelong pain and disability.

1885, m. Amanda L. Isbell, b. July 1862, d. Dec. 1899; probably bur. in Jackson Co., AL. The oldest daughter died of TB (as had Amanda); the two younger girls were raised in the convent at St. Mary's, Sewanee, in about 1903.

Questions: 1) We have several documents dealing with Amanda's father's estate. Although her sisters all sign along with their husbands, Amanda signs by herself as A.L. Long. Why?

2) Thomas had to sue to get Amanda's AL land released to him after her death. Why?

3) Amanda is likely buried here:

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/a...

Many of the women were buried under their birth names (Mary Smith, wife of J. Jones). Why?

I have some ideas on this myself but am curious what others may think.

I doubt they were separated. It's more likely that he had to sue to get the land in his name because it was never properly transferred to Amanda at the Register of Deed's office. The way to find out for sure is to contact the Clerk of the Court in the county where the suit was filed and get a copy of the filing and the ruling. Courts never destroy a document without filming it first. The records do still exist and are very easy to get.

When women are buried under their maiden names it's because that's how women were documented throughout their lives in that era. They were their father's daughters and their husband's wives...in that order. It's the way for the world to know that Mary was a Smith before she was a Jones. It actually makes our research so much easier when we find those headstones.

As for Amanda signing all by herself, it's possible that she was sickly (you did say she died young from TB) and she may have been living in a TB sanitorium. It's very possible that an attorney or court magistrate took the papers to her for signature and that her husband wasn't there. It's also possible he was in a home himself and that he wasn't well enough to travel to sign the paperwork.

At that time, the only way to get a divorce in Tennessee was by an act of the state legislature. It would have been a long, difficult and expensive process. I suspect many couples simply parted and lived separate lives. That may have been the case with Thomas and Amanda Long.

Am a tad confused (nothing new) you are stating...
T. J. Long, b. 1841, m. 1885 (age. 44) Amanda L. Isbell, b. 1862, dau. of ___m to ___.

Issue by the m. of Amanda's father and mother:
1. Eldest daughter, dec'd.
2. Amanda (ibid)
3. Daughter apparently married
4. Daughter apparently married

My thought, 1) was Amanda a step daughter of the above unknown marriage? A daughter of the wife of her father by yet a first marriage of that woman? That might be the reason that Thomas J. Long had to sue to get her portion.

Other than the above, I haven't the foggiest notion, you are up against it here, unless you can locate other records!

If there is a lawsuit filed concerning Thomas' rights to any land in Alabama, there should be a file regarding this. All indications that you say, point to them being separated or divorced. She signed without him.. and husbands legally had rights to wife's money. The lawsuit being filed seems to prove that she attempted to keep him from that.. he went to court, and if he won, it MAY be proof that there had been no divorce.
Re women buried with birth names... I have seen tombstones like this, that includes the birth name but also lists wife of so and so. I would say that in most cases, it was just a way to acknowledge the birth name as well as show the marriage.
There is a large age difference between the two. Along with the other evidence you have, it sure seems to suggest that he was at the least, controlling, perhaps patronizing, etc.
You know about the lawsuit, and I think the answers are in the body of those files.

Complete speculations on my part:

1) Thomas Long was out of town, out of state, incapacitated (i.e, extremely sick or delirious), or hated by his father-in-law

2) Since she had signed everything he had to prove that he had a right to it as her husband OR she had held it jointly with her sisters/relatives and they didn't want to give it up OR there was some trouble with the documents (courthouse fire, lost, etc. etc.) and he had to prove his right

3) The Smith family could have been a prominent family in the area --not necessarily rich, but an "old" established family and they were proud of the Smith name