age at which a brand for stock would be registered in Col. America?

Question

Hi,

Does anyone have a resource for how old one must have been to register a brand/ear mark for livestock in Colonial America?
 

At the moment, my mind is on North Carolina, but a general resource would be great. I find myself searching this out from time to time in the context of various colonies, but if I've ever found something that seemed credible, I must have forgotten about it.

Thanks, cheers,

Daphne

Comments

"Registration" didn't begin until the era of the Long Drives, and railroads into the Chicago markets when animals numbered in the thousands on a single day. Owners registered their brands prior to the drives so they'd get paid correctly. (I "do" cowboys. Got a dozen books about the Chisholm Trail history)

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Thanks. What I meant was for livestock grazing in common. I'm working on someone whose mark was recorded in Bertie Precinct, North Carolina in 1722. Perhaps registration was a misleading way to describe it.

Answer 1

Any dealings of a "legal" nature would normally require that the individual be 21.

Comments

Thanks -- so if a minor owned cattle by inheritance, for instance, it would be marked with a guardian's mark until they arrived at 21? Do you know of a source specific to livestock and minors?

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This is the most detailed source I've found about guardians and livestock, but does not touch on the question of marks: http://www.genfiles.com/articles/orphans-guardians/

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Hi, Daphne,

I'm not absolutely sure, but they may have been able to get their own mark with the consent/assistance of the guardian.

For example, one of my husband's ancestors sold a piece of property in Virginia that he inherited from his father but on the deed, it said that he and his uncle sold the property. His uncle (mother's brother) was his guardian and he was 20 at the time.