Family Historian User Group

Hi there everyone, can anyone advise me regarding historical divorces? I am relatively convinced that an extended member of my family was previously married (as 'confirmed' by 2 census record entries) and I have found his marriage certificate to my direct relative. However, after pain-staking search of the complete BMD (praise those who informed me of this rather than the freeBMD!) I have found no record of the wife's death- nothing remotely close. What I need to know is about divorce, however unlikely it seems! I reckon I'm barking up the wrong tree really, but I want to see if I can figure this out anyway I know divorce was uncommon in the 1900's but I don't know how it was done and how common- say for example the man had an affair, could he then divorce the wife? Would it have been accessible to poorer families? Gosh I wish I had the 1911 census, many of my relatives seem to have 'life events' in either 1902 or 1912!

As a little aside, if your husband was transported to Australia for a crime what was then your marital status? A different relative has remarried (1830s) and she is not a 'widower'- does the word divorce even come into this or was it just assumed that transported men weren't coming back and you should get on with things? Legally would that be sound?!

Thanks Paula

ID:2535

If the relative is married in a location very different from the previous marriage it is far from impossible that he was committing bigamy!

Just a thought[smile]

There is a good chunk of useful information in Google Answers on 19th Century Marriage

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=581620

I believe bigamy was more common than divorce in those days!

Anne

Although I have one 2xg grandfather who I am fairly convinced was a bigamist, I have another where I am less certain. In the 1891 he is married to my 2xg grandmother, but in the 1901 he is married to another woman (who was living in the same building as my ancestors in both 1881 and 1891). On his second marriage certificate in 1900 he claims to be a widower, yet I can find no trace of a death certificate for my 2xg grandmother. Where would I look for records of divorce, if only to eliminate it?

For records of divorce, try TNA:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/fami ... ivorce.htm

Some of this material can be searched on findmypast.com.

Regards,
Derek Woodman