Frenchwomen and Money

Do you remember how the daughters of Downton Abbey could NOT directly inherit any of their father’s wealth? The English system of inheriting wealth was adopted in the U.S. after this country became independent. In the 1600s and 1700s, however, Frenchwomen living here in French-held territory – mostly in Canada and the Midwest – benefited from rules about inheritence that were much more favorable to mothers and daughters than most of us realize.

During this time, for example, when a rich Frenchman died in North America, daughters would inherit equal shares of his wealth with the man’s sons. Sons and daughters were considered equal!

What’s more, new brides among French-Americans were encouraged to sign contracts (essentially prenups) that could prevent creditors from taking a husband’s fortune to pay off his debts after he died. A portion of a Frenchman’s money went first to the widow, and only then to creditors.

So what, you might ask? The point is, these rules and others allowed the widows of French-American men to hold onto their family fortunes and pass money along to their daughters along with their sons. As a result, until the French system was replaced by the English (Downton Abbey) approach, French women living in colonial America could accumulate wealth and maintain economic independence.

All women living in colonial America did not always have to live under the same oppressive rules.