What did the women do in the New York colony?

Answer 1

Although a common belief is that women would marry at a young age, before the age of 15, most colonial women did not marry until their early 20s but before the age of 25. If a woman was not married by the age of 25, it was socially humiliating. Most men, however, did not marry until their mid-to late 20s. Typically, marriage in the colonial era was for economic benefit and to improve social standing, not for romantic reasons, and both men and women were pressured to marry and to have large families. Many marriages in the colonial era were arranged by the families of the prospective bride and groom. Common belief is that once a woman was married, under the law of coverture, all her inheritance, property, earnings, etc. would become the sole property of her husband, however many women entered into a marriage having signed a prenuptial agreement which stated that her property would be returned to her in case of a divorce. Also, because of mortality rates, it was not uncommon for a man or woman to be married three, four, or even five times in their lifetime.

Colonial life was extremely difficult and exhausting. For women, especially during the war years, they had to take on the roles of their husbands as well as keep the roles they had been given. Colonial women were expected to run the household; they were expected to cook meals, make clothing, and doctor their families on top of cleaning, making household goods to use and sell, taking care of their animals, maintaining a fire, and even tending to the kitchen gardens. During the war years when the men were away, women had to work on the farms performing the plowing, sowing, harvesting, and bringing the crops to the markets to sell just as their husbands would do. What was considered "woman's work" varied slightly based on location

During the war years (the French and Indian War and the American Revolution--the start of which ended the colonial era), some women followed their husbands and sons into war, acted as nurses on the battlefields, and even took up arms to fight against the oppressing powers that be. One young woman from New York, Sybil Ludington, the daughter of Col. Henry Ludington who commanded the 7th Dutchess County Militia in Carmel, New York, became famous for her night ride on April 26, 1777 to alert American colonial forces to the approach of British regulars towards Danbury, Connecticut. Although the militia forces lost the battle, she is still regarded as one of the heroines of the Revolution; on her night ride, she rode twice as far as Paul Revere (and although there were other riders who helped Revere, Sybil was the only rider that night) and she was only 16-years-old.

Women were more than just housewives, they were the lovers AND the fighters and took on many roles throughout history, and the colonial women in New York were no exception to that.

Answer 2

Women in Colonial New York worked hard. They took care of their families, cooked, cleaned, took care of the animals, and made items to sell in order to make money for the family.