Divorce – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Syphilis, Steamboats, and Scientific Evidence: A Lancaster County Divorce Suit

When you hear about a case that hinges on “medical evidence,” what is the first image that pops into your head? It’s probably something serious…

McKenzie LongAugust 3, 2022

Archives

Alias Smith and Morris: Shady Dealings in a Civil War Era Marriage & Divorce

Visiting John and Lucinda Smith at their home in Belton, South Carolina, could be a little complicated if one were traveling from out of town.…

Eddie WoodwardNovember 10, 2021

Archives

A Marriage Divided: The Post-Civil War Divorce of Sarah and George Field

"I hate secession and all its hateful helpers. Cursed be the hand that raised its bloody flag to make desolate homes and wretched women,” wrote…

McKenzie LongSeptember 22, 2021

Archives

Out of Character: A Middlesex County Divorce Suit

Inviting a man of the cloth to live in your home seems like it should be a good idea. You might expect a resident clergyman…

Sherri BagleyJuly 24, 2019

Archives

The Kindness of Strangers: A Story From the Montgomery County Chancery Causes

The bedrock of the Library of Virginia’s chancery causes collection is the personal story. While most causes share similar documents, topics, and resolutions, each story…

Callie FreedJuly 3, 2019

Archives

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Legislative Petitions for Divorce

In this age of no-fault divorce, it is hard to imagine that from 1776 to 1826 the only means of divorce in Virginia was by…

Bill BynumAugust 29, 2018

Archives

The Old Ball and Chain

In the colonial period, married Virginians had very few legal grounds for divorce. Over the years, though, standards loosened up a bit, and eventually the…

Vince BrooksJuly 13, 2016

Archives

A Modern Day Soap Opera in the 19th Century

Some things in life never change. Seasons, hunger, sleep, and calamity are constants which prove that the world repeats itself. Relationships are no different. For…

Sherri BagleyMarch 16, 2016

Archives

Modern Love: Two Wrights and a Wrong

Many a modern day love rat has been outed by a spouse’s discovery of telling photos posted to Facebook or illicit text messages. But what…

Vince BrooksDecember 9, 2015

Archives

Love Letters in the Archives

While working on a project involving the Middlesex County Chancery Causes, I noticed a case that was filled with scandal and intrigue. Middlesex Chancery Cause,…

Mary Dean CarterSeptember 30, 2015

Archives Digital Projects

Spotsylvania County Chancery Causes Online

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for Spotsylvania County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1812-1913, are now available online through the Chancery…

Joanne PorterApril 24, 2015

Archives Digital Projects

King William Co. Chancery Now Online!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for the King William County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1868-1913, are now available online through the Chancery…

Bari HelmsMarch 12, 2014

Archives

From Russia Without Love

It has been said that there is a thin line between love and hate, and apparently love and obsession. Or so appears to be the…

Joanne PorterNovember 13, 2013

Archives

Georgia on my Mind

One day in 1898, A.M. Scales definitely did not have Georgia on his mind. While processing the Patrick County chancery records, I discovered a divorce case, Georgia L.…

Sherri BagleySeptember 25, 2013

Archives

Anatomy of a Marriage

Divorces reveal much about the inner-workings of a family, usually much more than outsiders should ever discover. While processing the Arlington County chancery causes, I…

Bari HelmsSeptember 18, 2013