A woman is barred of her dower by the attainder of her husband for treason, by her own attainder for treason, or felony, by divorce is vinculo rnatrintonii, by elopement from her husband and living with her adulterer, by detaining the title-deeds from the heir at law, until she restores them, by alienation of the lands assigned her for a greater estate than she has in them ; and she might also be barred of her dower by levying a fine, or suffering a recovery during her marriage, while those assurances existed. But the most usual means of barring dower are by jointures, made under the provisions of the 27 Hen. VIII. c. 10 ; and by the act of the husband. Before the scat. 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 105, a fine or recovery by the husband and wife was the only mode by which a right to dower which had already attached could be barred, though, by means of a simple form of conveyance, a husband might prevent the right to dower from arising at all upon lands purchased by him. By the above-mentioned statute, it is pro vided that no woman shall be entitled to dower out of any lands absolutely dis posed of by her husband either in his life or by will, and that his debts and engagements shall be valid and effectual as against the right of the widow to dower. And further, any declaration
by the husband, either by deed or will, that the dower of his wife shall be sub jected to any restrictions, or that she shall not have any dower, shall be ef fectual. It is also provided that a simple devise of real estate to the wife by the nusband shall, unless a contrary intention be expressed, operate in bar of her dower. This statute, however, affects only mar riages contracted, and only deeds, &c., subsequent to the 1st of January, 1834.
Most of these alterations, as indeed may be said of many others which have recently been made in the English real property law, have for some years been established in the United States of Ame rica. An account of the various enact ments and provisions in force in the different States respecting dower may be found in 4 Kent's Commentaries, p. 34-72. (Blackstone, Comm. ; Park