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Could anyone please tell me how to find out if couples divorced?
I have a feeling they didn't and committed bigamy. Or at least one of them did.
William Coy married Caroline Shaw in Dec1878 (I have cert) they are together in 1881. By 1891 Caroline is now Caroline Cooke and has several children. The children are all on Civil Register under name of Cooke but so far have been unable to find a marriage. Also in 1901 William Coy appears to be married to Elizabeth Goldspink (3Q 1894 Lambeth) haven't sent for cert yet but may have to.
Just thought I'd try to find a divorce if possible, thanks Jennifer
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Copied from:
http://www.familyhistory.uk.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=548&Itemid=29
Divorce Courts - Family Records Centre Factsheet
From 11 January 1858, the new London-based Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes heard all divorce and matrimonial cases. In 1873 it was reformed into the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the Supreme Court of Judicature. The Divorce Registry is now part of the Principal Registry of the Family Division, with records of all divorces granted in England and Wales from 1858 to the present day.
Although divorce was no longer the exclusive province of the very wealthy, it still involved some expense, so the poor were effectively excluded. The very poor could sue without payment of fees ‘in forma pauperis’ if they could prove their lack of means; from 1914 onwards the Poor Persons Rules, and from the 1920s the extension of legal aid, made divorce available to people of all income levels.
Case files
Case files for some divorces, mostly before 1938, can be found in The National Archives at Kew in record series J77. They are original documents that have not been microfilmed so they are not available at the Family Records Centre (FRC). However, microfilm copies of the indexes to them can be seen at the FRC, and also at Kew, in record series J78.
You can find details on how to use these indexes in our leaflet ‘How to use…Indexes to Divorce Files from 1858’ Each file contains the petition, any relevant certificates and affidavits, and occasionally other material.
From around 1870 you will also find copies of the Decrees Nisi and Absolute. The court granted a Decree Nisi when it was satisfied that the grounds for the divorce had been proved, but the parties were not free to re-marry until the Decree Absolute was granted, usually six months after the Decree Nisi. The case files include many instances where the petition was unsuccessful, and so a divorce was not granted. Records of these cases will therefore only be found in the records held by The National Archives, and not in the Principal Registry.
Grounds for Divorce
Until 1971, divorces were granted on the basis of the bad behaviour of one or other party. Divorce by mutual consent was not allowed, and if the parties colluded to obtain a divorce, the court would refuse to grant it. A man could divorce his wife for adultery, and she would not be entitled to any maintenance, as a consequence of her bad behaviour. The husband might even sue the other man for damages, and for the costs of the suit.
Until 1923 a wife had to prove her husband’s adultery, along with some other offence, to gain a divorce. This could be cruelty, or desertion for two years or more. She could also divorce him on the grounds of incestuous adultery; where he committed adultery with a woman that he could not legally have married, if his wife were dead. This would include his wife’s sister, or half-sister.
Marriage to a deceased wife’s sister was forbidden until the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Act of 1907, but this Act contained wording that still expressly forbade marriage to a divorced wife’s sister or half-sister while the divorced wife was still alive.
The Deceased Brother’s Widow’s Marriage Act of 1921 contained a similar clause, so that a man could not marry his brother’s ex-wife during the brother’s lifetime.
Judicial Separation
Some petitions were for judicial separation rather than divorce, on the grounds of adultery, cruelty or desertion. In such cases the parties were not free to re-marry, but gained some legal protection; the wife’s property and earnings from the time of the separation were protected, and she could be awarded alimony; the husband would no longer be liable for any debts incurred by his wife.
A wife might gain a separation on the grounds of desertion if she had been obliged to leave the home because of her husband’s misconduct, for example if he were an habitual drunkard. It did not, however, constitute desertion if a husband’s occupation required him to be absent from home for long periods, for example if he was a soldier or sailor.
From 1878 local magistrates could grant separation and maintenance orders to the wives of violent husbands, and from 1886 a husband who deserted his wife and children, or refused to maintain them, could be ordered by the magistrates to pay up to £2 per week.
Some Poor Law authorities required deserted or abused wives to obtain such orders before granting them relief. A separation might be obtained where there were insufficient grounds for divorce, or the petitioner had religious or moral objections to a full divorce.
A petition might be made for Restitution of Conjugal Rights, where one party had withdrawn from cohabitation without good cause. The absent party could be served with an order to return, and if they refused, this was deemed to be desertion, and the injured party could them petition for a Judicial Separation.
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Thanks Raych for the info. They weren't poor but not neccessarily rich either. He was a hairdresser and the man Caroline ended up with was a Master Printer. I'll see what I can find. In 1891 William Coy is a lodger and he still describes himself as married, even though I have now found out where his wife was (with another man!)
William is only a first cousin 3 times removed, but I just got caught up in his life and want to know what happened. There are 2 Coy children involved somewhere.
Jennifer
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