Have you found divorced couples in your family tree? Until the 20th century, divorces were quite uncommon and finding records for them can be a challenge.

The time period in which the divorce happened will require looking into a variety of records.

Divorce in the 1600s in America was very uncommon, but it did happen for reasons such as bigamy, adultery and desertion. Massachusetts Bay Colony had its first divorce recorded in 1638 when Elizabeth Luxford sued her husband for divorce because of his bigamy!

Divorces in the 1600s can be difficult to prove because they would have been approved by special tribunals or through the passage of a law by a higher governmental authority than the town or even the county where the couple lived.

There weren’t many more divorces in the 1700s than had been granted in the 1600s and, again, divorces were mostly granted by a higher governmental level than the local town.

By the 1800s, while divorces were becoming increasingly common, the Victorian attitude towards it was disapproving. Women began appearing in the censuses as widowed, when, in fact, they were at the very least separated and perhaps even divorced from their husbands, but weren’t about to publicly admit it.

The 20th century brought about many societal changes and, among them, were more accepting attitudes towards divorce and remarriage. With that acceptance, no surprisingly, the number of divorces recorded skyrocketed.

7 Tips for Finding Divorce Records

1. The FamilySearch wiki has a number of entries for divorce records in various states. This is an excellent starting point to determine what collections might be accessible.
2. Divorces recorded in the 1600-1700s might already be published in genealogical materials. Check online trees to see if someone else has located the record you seek. It might already be digitally attached to the tree.
3. Contact the appropriate state archives and/or state library to ask whether divorce records are in their collections.
4. Ancestry (subscription) has some divorce records, but they tend to cover the 20th century, with a couple of exceptions. Hawaii records covered 1848-1882 and New Hampshire has a large collection, 1850-1969, available on ancestry.
5. After checking the FamilySearch wiki, you might be lucky to find that the records you need are already part of the FamilySearch collection, whether digital or on paper.
6. Divorce suits generally had to be filed at the county level from the 19th century onward. Contact the county clerk where you think it is likely that the divorce was filed.
7. Research local newspapers. If you think people complain about no public privacy today, then read some of the entries in local newspapers. The entire town knew what was happening and, if a petition for divorce was filed, a notice was often required to be published in the newspaper.

Finding divorce records can be a complex and time-consuming process. Understand that, at times, especially in the 1800s, divorce packets were not saved or indexed. Perhaps it was only noted in the minutes of the court session when the divorce was granted. Sometimes, not even a mention in the minutes is found.

My husband’s 2X great grandfather married four times and every wife left him. I’ve only located divorce papers filed by Wife #2.

It’s also possible, in both the 19th and 20th centuries, that divorce never happened. One person, or the couple together, both agreed to go their separate ways and never bother getting divorced.

Some Civil War widows were most unhappy to learn that they weren’t eligible for widows’ pensions because their husbands hadn’t died in the war, as they thought. The men decided to just not ever go back home and moved on, marrying again and even raising a second family with the second wife none the wiser that her spouse already had a living wife and previous family.