Welcome to my quarterly blog at A Slice of Orange!
We’re living in interesting times, and I was tempted to write a post about historical plagues and pandemics… But, if you’re like me, you’re heartily sick of hearing about them.
So, since March is Women’s History Month in the U.S., I’m sharing a gem of a book I found about women bankers.
Women Who Made Money: Women Partners in British Private Banks 1752-1906 , by Margaret Dawes and Nesta Selwyn
Regency romance enthusiasts will know the story of Sarah Sophia Fane Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey and one of the patronesses of Almack’s. Sarah inherited a partnership in Child’s Bank, and became an active participant in the bank’s management until her death in 1867. (Her mother, also named Sarah, had been cut out of the will after her scandalous elopement to Gretna Green with the Earl of Westmoreland!)
But, you ask, didn’t the law say that all of a woman’s property became her husband’s upon marriage?
The authors explain how some women, either through the wisdom of enlightened parents or their own power as widows managed this:
The law has always offered loop-holes. Provision could be made in her marriage settlement for a woman to retain the use of her own property . . . It was also possible for a woman’s property to be placed in the hands of trustees before her marriage, so that her husband could have no use of it without her consent.
Marriage settlements were extremely important financial and legal agreements negotiated by wealthy parties prior to marriage. Today, we call those “pre-nups”.
Middle-class Country Bankers
The book includes the stories of Lady Jersey and Harriet Mellon Coutts, an actress who inherited her husband’s interest in Coutts Bank and went on to marry the Duke of St. Albans (and still retain ownership of her wealth). But most of the seventy-six women bankers were solidly middle-class.
Many women established country banks with husbands or sons. Some inherited banks. Many also engaged alone or with husbands in other types of commerce, such as shipping, mining, or manufacturing.
And you won’t find most of these women mentioned in Wikipedia!
If you’re interested in a chronicle of women in business in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, you might enjoy this book.
Wishing you
much good health until we meet again in June!
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Welcome to my quarterly blog at A Slice of Orange! We’re living in interesting times, and I was tempted to write a post about historical plagues and pandemics… But, if you’re like me, you’re heartily sick of hearing about them. So, since March is Women’s History Month in the U.S., I’m sharing a gem of […]
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Award-winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction.
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Award-winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction.
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Award-winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction.
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Award-winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction.
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I love reading about strong women, and this sounds like a gold mine of information about real strong women in history! Thanks so much for sharing.
I know there have always been victimized women, but I too prefer to read about the strong ones!
Alina and Patricia, I so agree with both of you. I want to read about strong women. This book is going on my TBR pile.
Such interesting information!
Thanks for sharing.
Good luck and God’s blessings
PamT
Thanks for stopping by, Pam!
The strong women from history paved the way for the rest of us! 😊 I love reading about them and their impact on the lives of others.
So true! Thank you for stopping by!
I learn so much from you!
That was very interesting, Alina. Strong women have always fascinated me.
You find the most interesting research facts. This is so cool. She was definitely an admirable woman who left a huge impact. Thanks for sharing!