Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1859-11-04
A Bill to Secure the Rights of
Married Women. =

SECTION | Be u enacted 5y the Genera
Assembly Of me State of Tennessee, Tha
every species and description of property
whether consisting Of real or personal estate
and all money rights and credits, which
may be owned by, or belong to any single
woman, shall continue 70 be the separate
property of such woman, as fully after hel
marriage as it was before and all such
property or rights of whatever name or
kind, which shall accrue to any married
woman by will, descent, distribution, deed
of conveyance, recovery or otherwise, shall
be owned, used and enjoyed by such mar
ried women, as her own separate property;
and such property, whether owned by her
before marriage, or which may have accru-
ed TO her afterwards shall not be subject
or liable to be taken in satisfaction of the
debts of the husband Nor shall such
property, or any part thereof, be sold, con-
veyed, mortgaged, transferred, or in any
manner encumbered by the husband, un-
less the wife shall Join in the conveyance
thereof, and acknowledge such conveyance
in the manner directed by law, for the
acknowledgment of convoyanees of real
estate by married women, in section 2076,
Art. 10th, of the Code of Tennessee. Pro
rided, that any deed from the husband to
the wife for her use, shall be void as against
his creditors, who were such at the time
of executing the deed; and no conveyance
or encumbrance, for the separate debts of
the husband, shall be binding on the wife
beyond the amount Of her income.
= SECTION 2. Be IL further enacted, That
if any husband shall purchase real or per
sonal property in his own name, with the
money of his wife, he shall hold the same
only as trustee for her use, but such trust
shall be void as against creditors of the
husband, who contracted or gave credit in
consequence of the possession of such pro-
perty. .,..l ... +... .a-..
SECTION 3. Be Il further enacted, That
the husband of woman who holds sepa-
rate real and personal property under this
act, shall not be liable for her debts cou-
tracted before or after marriage, unless he
voluntarily assumes such debts in which
case, they shall become his own debts.
SECTION 4. BE Il further enacted, In ad-
dition to the remedies now existing by the
common law gfor and against married wo-
men, the husband and wife may sue Joint
ly; or if the husband will not join her,
she may sue alone for the recovery of any
of her property or rights and she may
be sued jointly with her husband, on ali
contracts or other matters for which her
individual property is liable; but if the
suit be against husband and wife, no judg-
ment shall be rendered against her, unless
the liability of her separate property be
first established. s,a
SECTION 5. Belt further enacted, fany
married wopIan shall die seized or possess
ed of real estate, acquired or held under
the provisions of this Act, and leave a
child or children by one or more marriages
or descendants of such children, the hus-
band surviving her shall receive one third
of the real estate owned by the wife at the
timeof her death Sto be set apart allotted
to him, according to the rules and the
remedy established for the allotment of
dover. g. eae - a,''af "
SECTION G.. Be 4 afarthcr enacted, That if
any married woman shall die seized and
possessed Of personal estate, acquired or
held under the provisions of this Act-to
wit: slaves and other property-such pro-
perty shall descend TO her husband and
children, their descendants if she have
any survive her, either by former husband
in equal parts, according to the rules of
descent. But if she should have no chill
dren or descendants of them. then the
husband shall inherit her personal proper
ty. Provided that neither the husband,
nor his representatives, shall be liable to
account to the wife or her representatives
for the rents, profits or income, arising
from the separate property of the wife,
after the expiration Of one year from the
time of receiving the same.
SECTION T. BE Il further enacted, That
in case the wife should have separate
property at the time of the death of her
husband, equal in value to what would be
her lawful portion of her husbands real
and personal estate, and he should have
made will, she shall not be at liberty to
signify her dissent to such will, or to re-
nounce any provision or bequest therein
in her favor, and elect to take her dover
in the real estate, and her distributive
share in the personality, But if her sepa-
rate property be not equivalent in value to
what would be the value of her dover and
distributiye share of her husbands estate,
then she may signify her dissent to the
will as in other cases now provided by law,
aud claim to have the deficiency made up
to her, notwithstanding the will and the
County Court in which the will has been
recorded, may appoint three commissioners
to ascertain, by valuation OF the estate
what her lawful portion thereof would be
worth, estimating her right of dover in
the real estate as equivalent to seven years
rent of such part as she would be entitled
as dover, and the personal estate at fair
valuation. And the commissioners shall
also value her own separate estate and re-
port their valuation to the Court where
upon the Court shall make the proper or
der for allowing her dover in the real estate
and distribution of the personal estate TO