Hannah Tompkins

One notable Virginia woman, Hannah Bennett Turner Tompkins Arnold, lived in the mid-seventeenth century. She was her parents’ only child to reach adult
-
hood, so she inherited 450 acres of land. Her first husband helped her get title to the land, and when he died, she inherited his possessions. In her next marriage, she and her husband probably entered into a
marriage agreement that protected her rights, and when he died, she added his property to her landholdings. Before she married a
third time, she drew up a
deed of gift to bequeath her land and possessions to her children and protect their rights in case she died before her husband. Yet, she outlived her third husband and inherited his estate too. By accumulating land from her father and three husbands, her wealth and influence in the community grew. She had used legal strategies and the help of her first husband to maintain control of her property.

http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/Curriculum-Materials/Women_in_Early...