Divorce Records are often a source of valuable insight to the genealogist.
My last blog encouraged readers to go into the courthouse and hunt for treasures found there. I gave a few gentle clues regarding good courthouse manners. Now, it’s time to use some of those records.
For me the most interesting records are divorce records. In the South, divorce was scandalous for as long as women were put on a pedestal. I remember how shocking it was in the 1950s. And if a man sued for a divorce, you knew there had to be “another woman” involved. With that said, I found very scandalous divorce papers filed in 1935 last week. The husband was the plaintiff, the one who sued for the divorce. The wife in this case was the defendant, the person who was sued. Those are two very important terms. Divorce papers can be sealed by the court; but that does not often happen.
There are two parts to divorce records and both are not always retained by the court. The first is the petition that the plaintiff files arguing the reason for wanting a divorce. The second part is the decree that simply tells so and so were divorced on such a date with all financial and custody matters outlined. The decree is almost always the proof of the divorce and the part kept by the court. The petition contains all the juicy stuff but is often destroyed after the case becomes final. Divorces are heard in the court that hears civil cases having to do with equity. They go by different names in different states so check with The Handy Book for Genealogist or The Red Book.
In this particular divorce, the husband contended that his wife was mean and abusive. For their entire married life, he claimed she was temperamental and verbally abusive. She was said to turn the children away from him. Once the children were grown, he kicked her out of the house and filed for the divorce. To get a clearer picture, I went to the 1930 Census for Hunt County, Texas. Many of the wife’s extended family lived in the town of Greenville, including her parents and this couple. The rent on the couple’s home was $10 per month while her parents owned a home valued at $3700. Quite a difference in lifestyles! In addition, the wife was from a prominent farming family who arrived in the late 1840s. No information has been found regarding his family.
In 1910 the couple was living on rented farm land, indicating they were tenants or sharecroppers. I suspect that the wife believed she had married beneath her status in life and was grossly unhappy. She seemed to have taken her frustrations out on her husband until he could tolerate it not longer. While this is speculation, it is sometimes helpful to write these comments down with a note that they are purely speculative. Who knows what else may turn up?