"Franklin County Virginia 1786-1986 ".
A Bicentennial History
This was graciously sent in by Bev Thomas, to help others in their research
From page 174:
When a wedding was held, parents who could afford to do so sometimes provided a dowry for the bride, although it usually was in the name of the groom. On 6 August 1792, for example, Gasper Howser gave 105 acres of land on Chestnut Creek to Abraham Stover "of his Free Good Will and pleasure...as a Dowry with his daughter Catherine now wife to said Abraham Stover."
