value of five hundred dollars, to be selected by such resident, shall be
and is hereby exempted from sale under execution or other final process
of any court issued for the collection of any debt.
[Sidenote: Homestead.]
SEC. 2. Every homestead, and the dwellings and buildings used therewith,
not exceeding in value one thousand dollars, to be selected by the owner
thereof, or in lieu thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in a
city or village, with the dwellings and buildings used thereon, owned
and occupied by any resident of this State, and not exceeding the value
of one thousand dollars, shall be exempt from sale under execution or
other final process obtained on any debt. But no property shall be
exempt from sale for taxes or for payment of obligations contracted for
the purchase of said premises.
[Sidenote: Homestead exempted from debt.]
SEC. 3. The homestead, after the death of the owner thereof, shall be
exempt from the payment of any debt during the minority of his children
or any one of them.
[Sidenote: Laborer's lien.]
SEC. 4. The provisions of sections one and two of this article shall not
be so construed as to prevent a laborer's lien for work done and
performed for the person claiming such exemption, or a mechanic's lien
for work done on the premises.
[Sidenote: Benefit of widow.]
SEC. 5. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow but no
children, the same shall be exempt from the debts of her husband, and
the rents and profits thereof shall inure to her benefit during her
widowhood, unless she be the owner of a homestead in her own right.
[Sidenote: Property of a married female secured to her.]
SEC. 6. The real and personal property of any female in this State
acquired before marriage, and all property, real and personal, to which
she may, after marriage, become in any manner entitled, shall be and
remain the sole and separate estate and property of such female, and
shall not be liable for any debts, obligations or engagements of her
husband, and may be devised and bequeathed, and, with the written assent
of her husband, conveyed by her as if she were unmarried.
[Sidenote: Husband may insure his life for the benefit of wife and
children.]
SEC. 7. The husband may insure his own life for the sole use and benefit
of his wife and children, and in case of the death of the husband the
amount thus insured shall be paid over to the wife and children, or to
the guardian if under age, for her or their own use, free from all the
claims of the representatives of her husband or any of his creditors.
[Sidenote: How deed for homestead may be made.]
SEC. 8. Nothing contained in the foregoing sections of this article
shall operate to prevent the owner of a homestead from disposing of the
same by deed; but no deed made by the owner of a homestead shall be
valid without the voluntary signature and assent of his wife, signified
on her private examination according to law.
ARTICLE XI.
PUNISHMENTS, PENAL INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC CHARITIES.
[Sidenote: Punishments.]
[Sidenote: Convict labor.]
[Sidenote: Proviso.]