I think you might find this article extremely helpful: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=kristine_knaplund

I did some research, and know that around 1850 white women had some rights, some even owned property, especially if it
was inherited from either a father, brother or husband. I don't know if
they could buy it or not, but sometimes apparently they could. They could
not vote, and were almost always at home.
However, I suppose that if the female in question was an emigrant, the chances of her being able to claim money would decrease.

I'll keep on researching and will update my answer if I find more information.

EDIT: I found this article on Property Rights of Women in the Nineteenth-Century. http://www.umd.umich.edu/casl/hum/eng/classes/434/geweb/PROPERTY.htm
"The property owned by women in Victorian England was usually inherited
from fathers. To protect the status of their daughters, most fathers included
them in the distribution of the patrimony, however, the type of property
inherited by sons and daughters differed. In the absence of a will or specification of land distribution, the
rules of primogeniture were invoked, giving the oldest son the rights to
all real property. Daughters inherited
real property only in the absence of a son, and it was held jointly between
sisters.Unmarried women, legally identified as feme sole, had complete legal
control of their own property."

Permalink | Report