Women in Westchester
Women and the Civil War

Government records, such as estate records, do not shed any light on how women's lives might have been affected by the Civil War. In addition, estate records can be frustrating in that they don't often provide any clues as to what women actually did with their time.

The Civil War touched everyone-not just those who fought in it. Women whose husbands became soldiers were left with the task of providing for their families financially as well as domestically. Not only did these women have to perform all the usual domestic chores, but also they had to have money in order to fund these tasks. Some towns provided war relief, as shown in the Records of the Town of Eastchester (image 1, image 2).