Mariam H. Fish to Richard Yates

Asbury Lasalle Co Ill

May 10 1863

Gov Yates

Will you please to notice a letter from a woman of the state, over which you preside as its most honored officer.

Praying you to use your influence in favor of the doing away of the unjust laws which deprive married woman of the God given right of holding and controlling what property she can honestly get, Being myself a married woman for the last fifteen years and although having a husband that is kind in every other respect, I have had plenty of reason to feel keenly the contempt which the present unjust laws keep upon woman, Man will not be better than the laws he makes Yourself probbaly has seen a multitude of yourn men with very poor buisness capacity, and they nearly all are quite sure to get married sooner or later, many of them to shrewd industrious woman who would be a good advisor for their husbands if they were permitted to do so but the husband bact by the law, scorns her judgment, He will have her to know that

he is capable of mannaging his own concerns, without any of her interference, Now this is all right if you will only give us the same privilege instead of binding us hand and foot and compelling us to use all our industry & energy in a buisness, which we know as it is mannaged must prove a failure, Many of us try this over and over again as the weary years roll away having our worst fears realized nearly every time, but meeting none the less contempt from our husbands if we venture to offer a judgment contrary to his own, Now what we want is this, that you give us the privilege of using our own judgment to gather about us compfharts for ourseleves and children, and do away with or cover up with better ones, all laws that interfere with our so doing,

Yours with much respect and earnest entreaty that you will give this subject some attention and cause it to be noticed by our Legislators,

Mariam H Fish

Mrs. Mariam H Fish

Ashbury Ills May 10 1863

Wishes the Governor to use his influence in favor of doing away with the unjust law of depriving marred women of the right of holding what property they can honestly get. hopes the Governor will cause this to be noticed in the Legislature.

file.

Recd Ex O. May 18 1863