According to the doctrine of coverture, the woman lost her legal existence upon marriage.

Before 1809, under the common law concept of coverture, married women had almost no property rights of their own.

Under the principle of coverture, the wife became subordinate to her husband, and he exercised exclusive rights over her and the property she owned.

The shares were given to the trustees and the income only was payable to the daughters, without power of alienation during coverture.

Until the 1880s, under the common law doctrine of coverture (based on the English law) a married woman could not hold any kind of property in her own right.