John Gilmer - Champion of Mississippi Women's Property Laws 1839

What made Colonel Gilmer truly remarkable was his forward-thinking approach to women's rights. In 1839, he authored and championed what became known as the "Woman's Law" in Mississippi. This groundbreaking legislation was revolutionary for its time - it allowed married women to own property separately from their husbands. Under this law, a wife's property couldn't be seized for her husband's debts or sold without her consent.

John Gilmer's groundbreaking analysis of the Mississippi Married Women's Property Act of 1839 transformed our understanding of this landmark legislation.