Divorces from 1876-1887?

[Lesley Robertson]

I have moved this thread from "Finding your feet" to the "Divorce" forum as those interested in the subject are more likely to see it there as time goes on.

[npjewell]

Thanks!

[npjewell]

The situation has grown more complex since first posting. Alicia Sara Kathleen O'Donnell was married a third time between the previously noted marriages to Herbert Babington Clay(1856-1905) (married 1876) and to Edward Keevil (1857-1923) (married 1887). Alicia married William Black (1853-1919) in Ayr, Scotland in 1879. This latter marriage was announced in the Glasgow Herald on December 25, 1879, where she is noted as widow of Herbert B. Clay (who was very much alive!). The marriage to Black apparently ended in divorce according to a description of divorce court proceedings as described in the Edinburgh Evening News on 22 Jan 1884. However, there is insufficient time for any 7-year separation and so the second and third marriages are possibly bigamous due to Clay still being alive (in both cases Alicia identified herself as a widow).