Posted by:
elee
(
)
Date: December 18, 2010 03:28PM
Women, upon marriage, relinquished all rights to any property and money and future income they brought into the marriage. The husband became owner of all that. If she left the marriage, she would take nothing with her, including her children. Legally, she had no rights at all to get her own property back, nor any rights to maintain access to her children.
It wasn't until 1848 that that laws were reformed for women.
"Before married women's property acts were passed, upon marriage a woman lost any right to control property that was hers prior to the marriage, nor did she have rights to acquire any property during marriage. A married woman could not make contracts, keep or control her own wages or any rents, transfer property, sell property or bring any lawsuit.
Before 1848, a few laws were passed in some states in the U.S. giving women some limited property rights, but the 1848 law was more comprehensive. It was amended to include even more rights in 1860; later, married women's rights to control property were extended still more."
Link:
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/marriedwomensproperty/a/property_1848ny.htmThis is a topic I've been interested in for quite some time. Thanks for bringing it up, Robert.
Erin