Extreme Genes Episode 162
Every so often, a fellow genealogist will share with The Legal Genealogist a riveting story of family history — usually with a question attached.
And it’s almost always the same question: can the law explain what in the world is going on here?
It was no different just a few days ago when, in Salt Lake City, I had the chance to sit with Scott Fisher of Extreme Genes and talk about a riveting story of his family history: his great grandfather’s 1874 divorce in New York, which “proved” his wife’s adultery.
Scott and I first explored the facts as shown by the court record of his great grandfather’s divorce. Then we talked about what the law might be that was behind the record, and how the laws of New York would have impacted his family members.1
You see, there was one, and only one, ground for divorce in New York when that statute became law. Starting with the passage of the very first divorce law in the Empire State in 1787,2 and continuing all the way up to an amendment of the law in 1966, effective 1967,3 the single basis for granting a divorce was adultery.
It wasn’t until 1967 that New York finally permitted divorce on grounds of cruel and inhumane treatment, abandonment for more than two years, imprisonment for more than three years, and after a legal separation of more than two years.4
So, yes, the laws of New York undoubtedly played a big role in the story of Scott’s family — and the laws of divorce played a huge role in the stories of so many American families over the years.
Come listen in — the segment starts at 10:38 of the broadcast — and hear about divorce in the 19th century in various parts of the country, and what it took to get a divorce in those times. And about the states and territories that were very much in the business of divorce and how they worked.
It’s just one segment of this entertaining podcast, which also includes David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org, discussing how DNA has tied the 300-year-old remains of a baby boy to his well known father, and Tom Perry from TMCPlace.com talking about preserving audio cassette tapes.
SOURCES
- “Episode 162,” Extreme Genes (http://extremegenes.com/ : accessed 24 Oct 2016). ↩
- Law of March 30, 1787, chapter 69, 1787 N.Y. Laws 494. ↩
- Law of 27 April 1966, chap. 254, 1966 N.Y. Laws 833, effective 1 September 1967. ↩
- Law of 27 April 1966, chap. 254, 1966 N.Y. Laws 833, effective 1 September 1967. ↩
Great information! This answers why my great-grandfather took so long to divorce his first wife after being estranged for 3 years!
Divorce was sure a different matter in the past.
My husband and I separated in Wisconsin in 1978, and he wanted a divorce. He immediately moved to Virginia for a new job. He soon learned that the only grounds for divorce in Virginia was adultery, and he was the one committing it. I shortly moved for a new job, still in Wisconsin. I don’t know when the laws changed there, but there were multiple grounds for divorce. Among them were “irreconcilable differences.” Since I’d moved to a different county, I had to wait six months to establish residency, but from there on, it was straightforward. I found a law office that helped me do it myself. I’d go pick up the next form, the lawyer would tell me how to fill it out, I’d come back with it, she’d check it over, and give me the next one. The only place he had to be involved was to sign the final papers. It was simpler as we had no children, and no real estate. The lawyer told me what to expect when I went to family court. The process took about half an hour and he didn’t have to appear. The woman judge told me I’d done a good job. A friend went with me, and we went out to lunch afterward.
Modern laws are definitely different! Thank heavens!
Since you are coming to Washington in the Spring here is an interesting Washington Territory Divorce. McMullin took an appointment to be Governor of Washington Territory so he could get a legislative divorce in Washington Territory!
See link: first page http://stafnelawfirm.com/files/Divorce%20in%20Washington.pdf
See you in Tacoma in the spring
As a researcher, it is frustrating that NY divorce records are closed for 100 years and there isn’t much online to help determine when/where the divorce took place.