The earliest story I've found about an ancestor is from 1580. A French ancestor's wife was very ill. He feared she would die. There was a German army advancing, and some kind of plague was rampant. He was trying to find people who would be witnesses to her will, but everyone was afraid of getting ill. He finally found two who would sign. She survived. Women in France actually had independent property rights, necessitating a will. #genealogy
"Throughout the period from late 1586 to early 1588, the locals were constantly under the threat of plague that had somehow been endemic. Strongly excited by imagination they attributed to plague more than one death caused by diseases that were not contagious. Not only rural residents but also those of Montbeliard were under the influence of exaggerated fears. We see a curious example at the time of the invasion of the Guises (Germans). A. woman from Exincourt, who had fled to Montbeliard...
"... to escape persecution, ravages and insults of the wicked tyrannical troops from that country, fell ill suddenly January 26, 1588, her condition worsened so she hurried to make provisions. Her husband ran into the street at ten o'clock at night in search of witnesses. Despite his entreaties, he struggles to meet the prescribed number. There was a farmer from Bart and also a miller of the city who consented to serve as witnesses but many passers refused because they believed the testator...
"...was suffering from a contagious disease (1)."
Testamony of Jeanne Vaulthier, wife of Huguenin Parrot of Exincourt, 26 January 1588, Register of causal testimonies, National Archives, in Montbeliard, 1678, fol. 133 V.
#genealogy