What do you get with Divorce Records?

[notanotherminer]

My wife has just managed to find the Record of her Grandparents' Divorce in 1926 in the TNA catalogue online. At first it seemed that these were only available to view and order by personal visit but after searching through she found the right link to order online.

This has been done and we have been advised that an estimate of the cost will be emailed within 10 working days.

I have 2 questions really

1. What record are they likely to have? Would it be just the decree absolute or would there be other papers such as affidavits and statements of evidence?

2. Why do they have to work out an estimate instead of there being a fixed charge.

This is a totally new area for us so we wondered if anyone has any experience of these papers and what to expect

[bibliojunkie]

It depends…..

The divorce files c 1920 - 1930 I read at TNA were a mixed bag. One rather thick file was disappointingly short of interesting info as it contained mostly letters and memos relating to legal process. Another was missing the affidavit. All files had the marriage certificate attached. That was useful because I did not know my great uncle’s wife had been married previously to one of his relatives. None of the files contained a response to the plaintiff’s affidavit.

As I have never ordered anything online, I do not know how the charging system works. I presume staff have to work out how many pages need to be photocopied in order to give you a quote.

Ali

[v.wells]

Divorce records often contain all the divorce nisi, decree and court proceedings. This includes arrangements for custody if there are children, who was the plaintiff and the respondent. Names are named. Quite juicy and lots of fun to read. The price depicts the number of pages the file contains. I might add that if there are children involved they will be named, scans of marriage and birth statements also attached. It is a great source of historical data. I have ordered 2 lots of divorce papers and you get them sent to you elecronically via documents online and service is very fast. One only contained 7 pages and the other was 14.

[bibliojunkie]

Mine were not so juicy Vanessa! However, one wife cited her husband's adultery with the same woman over a two year period. Dates and locations, mainly south coast hotels, were listed. Once divorced, the chap lost interest in the co-respondent because he married another woman a year later.

Ali

[notanotherminer]

I do not know how the charging system works. I presume staff have to work out how many pages need to be photocopied in order to give you a quote.

The price depicts the number of pages the file contains.

Yes, that makes sense. Thanks to both of you for confirming

I have ordered 2 lots of divorce papers and you get them sent to you elecronically via documents online and service is very fast.

I wasn't expecting that Vanessa. I thought it would be a postal delivery similar to the GRO. My wife only knows her grandmother's account of the story ( she was the plaintiff ) and even that came to her from a cousin so from what you've described she may get both sides of the story. It should be interesting.

The marriage certificate will be a bonus. We do have a copy but presumably this would be the original issued at the time.

We are hoping that the papers might also contain her grandfather's address after they split. He didn't keep in touch with the family after so she never knew him or what became of him although we did find a death entry for the 1960's

Can you remember how much yours cost at the time?

Many thanks
Graham

[bibliojunkie]

The certificates on file, as far as I can remember, looked like the ones handed out at the time of the marriage. One had what looked liked tea stains on it and another had been well and truly crumpled up. I had visions of an almighty row when I saw that! My great uncle gave his mother’s address for service of correspondence whereas the others had solicitors’ addresses.

Ali

[v.wells]

Hi Graham - I think the 14 pager was about £18 but I'm not sure I remember - well worth it anyway! It includes court minutes, plaintiffs' story and names/addresses of all parties, a digital copy of the original marriage certificate . In this person's case she had to apply as "a Poor Person" and was not charged court costs. It was sad really as the man had taken the children away from her (he had beaten her, committed adultery) and she committed adultery in order to file for divorce. She died 10 yrs later never to see her children again. The children ended up in Barnardo's home for a short time, somewhere out of her home county. The husband continued "his ways" marrying a couple of more times. The husband never appeared in court and neither did the co-respondent.

[Kerrywood]

The marriage certificate will be a bonus. We do have a copy but presumably this would be the original issued at the time.

All the marriage certificates that I've seen in these case-files have been copies, acquired from Somerset House by the solicitors when the divorce petition was filed.

[notanotherminer]

Thanks to everyone for your very enlightening comments. That was a very sad story you told, Vanessa. Fortunately my wife's grandmother's had a happier ending. She remarried in 1932 and as far as is known things were much better with her second husband. My wife remembers her as an extremely strict woman with very firm views on how children should behave. I get the impression neither her nor her brother and sister dared to put a foot wrong when they visited.

Having read your replies she is very much looking forward to seeing what the papers contain. We both agree that they would seem to be incredibly good value.

Once again many thanks and I will of course keep you posted when they arrive.

Regards
Graham

[v.wells]

Yes Graham - Keep us posted There's nothing like a bit of "juicey gossip" to enlighten us on the lives of other people. I found the divorce papers gave great insight on the way things were and of course the legal proceedings were an eye opener