LAWS OF SEDUCTION

Did you know... a man could be sued if he promised to marry a woman but didn’t follow through?

Women were considered property in Canada until 1929. As a result, laws were put in place to protect women from predatory men. Seduction laws allowed women, but more often their fathers, to sue men who made false promises of marriage. The laws also set a minimum age to get married, 16 years old, with no parental consent.

In August of 1894, John Kidd, a 96-year-old Mono Mill’s man, married 16-year-old Gertie Robbins, in what was her second marriage. Following their marriage, Gertie did not stay with her husband for long, choosing instead to live with Constable Tom Smith. As a result of his abandonment, John Kidd wanted to write Gertie out of his will but left the teenage bride a token amount of one shilling. John Kidd passed away in March of 1895, while Gertie was still living with Constable Smith. True to his word, Gertie Kidd was awarded one shilling from his estate. She later contested the will in court and in 1896, she was awarded $5,000 from her husband’s estate. Many witnesses turned up in favour of the deceased and were called as witnesses to Gertie's abandonment. The court was not interested in hearing Gertie Kidd’s supposed wrongdoings and awarded her inheritance regardless.