Not many! An unmarried, divorced, or widowed woman possessed a legal personality as feme sole and was solely responsible for her affairs. She could own titles and sign contracts and wills. On the other hand, a married woman was under the cover of her husband’s authority as feme covert and had few property rights. Land she brought to the marriage became her husband’s to manage as he saw fit, although he normally could not sell her inherited property unless he got her permission to do so. A widow did receive one-third interest in her husband’s estate.
All women were proscribed in their civil rights. They could not vote, serve in the militia, or hold public offices. They could not act as jurors, but they could give testimony. Seventeenth-century observers ridiculed assertive women as unruly and disorderly and held them responsible for social discord. ”Brabbling” or quarrelsome speech among women was a crime, punishable by fines or the humiliation of a public ducking.
Further Reading
Linda Sturtz, Within Her Power: Propertied Women in Colonial Virginia;
Terri L. Snyder, Brabbling Women: Disorderly Speech and the Law in Early Virginia.
This Vignette Provided By
Anthony Parent. Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: The History of Virginia, 1607-2007
