Fairfield 375: Fairfield (CT) case an early landmark in struggle for women's rights

The Fairfield Citizen
Fairfield 375: Fairfield case an early landmark in struggle for women's rights
Published 11:42 am, Wednesday, August 6, 2014

EDITOR'S NOTE: Fairfield, established in 1639, is one of Connecticut's oldest communities. From its settlement 375 years ago by English colonists on "four squares" of land that Native Americans called Uncoway to the vibrant town of 60,000 residents that it is today, Fairfield's history is a chronicle of compelling events and colorful characters.

The Fairfield Citizen will highlight vignettes from that rich history throughout this 375th anniversary year on a regular basis.

Fairfield emerged at the forefront of the early campaign to win equal rights for women when a local woman refused to give up her property and her sister Fairfielders came to her defense.

Decades before women were granted the right to vote, Sarah Sherwood of Fairfield was jailed for contempt after she refused to hand her property over to her husband. Sherwood had been a "spinster" for years, living on a comfortable income from the property she had inherited from her parents. When she finally married in 1858, her husband Jessup Sherwood demanded control of her property since a married woman's property was, by law, owned by her husband. Jessup Sherwood was able to get a court order to take the property away from his wife's control. Sarah, who refused to turn her property over to her husband, was imprisoned as a result....

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