Brabbling Women: Disorderly Speech and the Law in Early Virginia

197 Pages·2003·2.5 MB·English

by  Terri L. Snyder

Brabbling Women

Brabbling Women
Disorderly Speech
and the Law in
Early Virginia
TERRI L. SNYDER
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ithaca etJ London
Copyright © 2003 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review,
this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher. For
information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House,
512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2003 by Cornell University Press
First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Snyder, Terri L., 1956–
Brabbling women : disorderly speech and the law in early
Virginia / Terri L. Snyder.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-4052-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8014-7905-2 (paper : alk. paper)
1. Women—Virginia—History—18th century. 2. Women—
Legal status, laws, etc.—Virginia—History. 3. Sex customs—
Virginia—History—18th century. I. Title.
HQ1438.V5 S68 2003
305.4'09755—dc21
2002151615
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally
responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent
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recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood
fi bers. For further information, visit our website at
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Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Parts of chapter 2 appeared in Sexual Coercion in Early
America, edited by Merril Smith (New York: New York
University Press, 2001). Reprinted by permission of New York
University Press. Excerpts of chapters 4 and 5 appeared in
Over the Threshold: Intimate Violence in Early America,
edited by Christine Daniels and Michael V. Kennedy (New
York: Routledge, 1999). Reprinted by permission of Routledge.
For my parents

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Brabbling Women in Early Virginia I
r. Women, Misrule, and Political Culture 19
2. Sexual Stories: Narratives of Consent and Coercion 45
3· Unwifely Speeches and the Authority of Husbands 67
4· Freedom, Dependency, and the Power of
Women's Speech
5. Widows, Fictive Widows, and the Management
of Households
Conclusion: Toward the Eighteenth Century 140
Notes 145
Index !79

Acknowledgments
IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE to thank the individuals and institutions
that gave support and sustenance to this project and its author. The
long list of those deserving thanks reflects my good fortune. I began
thinking about this book while writing a dissertation directed by
Linda K. Kerber, Wayne F. Franklin, and the late Sydney V. James at
the University of Iowa. Although nearly all vestiges of that original
project have vanished, its present form benefited enormously from
their guidance. As models of critical engagement, they molded my ap­
prenticeship to the field of early American studies and allowed me to
seek my own way of negotiating it. Wayne was unwaveringly helpful,
and his attentiveness to texts and textual matters deeply influenced
my own reading of early American documents. Sydney hooked me on
the early American Chesapeake, pointed me toward local court
records, and urged me to listen closely to my sources. I regret that he
has not survived to see the final product. Linda has been the best men­
tor imaginable: she gave me rigorous schooling in the vagaries of ear­
ly American law, wise expertise on American women's history, and
judicious readings of my work. She continues to be ready with intel­
lectual advice, friendship, and an ability to put things in clear per­
spective; and she has my deepest gratitude.
Generous institutional support has aided this project. The Hunt­
ington Library provided a Barbara Thorn Postdoctoral Research Fel­
lowship and a year to devote to this project; additional assistance came
in the form of a Robert Middlekauff Fellowship. I am particularly in­
debted to Roy Ritchie, the Huntington's director of research, for fos­
tering a lively environment in which to work and study. Aside from
giving me time to write and an immense garden for rejuvenating
walks, the Huntington was a forum to meet other scholars, many of
whom enriched this project. The Virginia Historical Society supported
this project with a Mellon Fellowship and, thanks to Nelson Lankford,
provided a genial place in which to work. A series of Faculty Research
Grants at California State University, Fullerton, sustained this proj-
ix