Record of Agreed Intestate Succession among Yi Dujin and His Siblings

This document records the intestate succession among the ten offspring of Yi Eonyeong (1568–1639). After a mourning period of three years following the death of Yi Eonyeong, his sons and daughters gathered and reached an agreement to divide their inherited property, which had not been fully distributed while Eonyeong was alive. The list of signatories omits Lady Yi, who is recorded as the third sister and would later become the wife of Heo Hae, as she was too young at that time to participate in the distribution. Yi Eonyeong's ten children include his first wife Lady Gwak’s daughter Lady Yi, wife of Bak Jongju; his second wife Lady Gwon’s childrenYi Dujin, Yi Wonjin, Lady Yi, wife of Yi Wonjeong, Yi Munjin, Lady Yi, wife of Heo Hae, and Yi Yeongjin; and his concubine’s children Yi Myeongjin, Yi Hwijin, and YiGyeongjin.This document also followed the Joseon-era principle of equal distribution, according to which each son and daughter received equal shares of slaves and farmland. Prior to recording each inheritor’s share, however, the document sets aside slaves and farmland as reserves for ancestral services, as well as memorial services for Lady Gwak, Yi Eonyeong’s first wife who died early. The document lists legitimate children before illegitimate children, and sons’ names before daughters’ names, as opposed to following the order of birth, as was customary for documenting property records in early Joseon. Illegitimate children Yi Myeongjin, Hwijin, and Gyeongjin also inherited shares of the estate under the law, and it is notable that they were given more property than prescribed by legal stipulation in consideration of their financial difficulties. The end of the document lists nine names. On behalf of Yi Eonyeong’s first daughter and her husband Bak Jongju, who were deceased by this time, their son Bak Gyeongjeon attended the meeting, while the names of illegitimate siblings were written and signed one letter space lower than those of the legitimate siblings. Yi Wonjeong (1622–1680), one of the sons-inlaw, drafted the document as a witness. He was a descendant of the Gwangju Yi family, which had been residing in Chilgok for generations, and later served as the Minister of Personnel during King Sukjong’s reign.