Divorce in early 1900s?

[dolly dimples]

Can anyone offer some advice please.  
I have a marriage of a Gt Uncle in 1906, to a Mary Daley, Then he married again to a Mary Wilson  in1913.  Again in 1922 he married a Mary Stuart.  my problem is that I cannot find a death for the first Mary between 1906 &  1913. I found the death of Mary no 2 in 1922, so could the first marriage have resulted in a split- up and how common was it for couples to part in those days, or was she simply missed from the registration? This is the first time I have been faced with this kind of problem so it has set me wondering if things were pretty much the same then as they are today and how and if,  can  I find out about divorce from then. Thanks Dolly.

[JenB]

It seems that at this time divorce was unusual. A husband could obtain divorce simply on grounds of a wife's adultery. But until 1925 a wife not only had to prove her husband's adultery but aslso that it was aggravated by cruelty or other offences. By the time of WW! there were less than 1000 divorces a year. I imagine it would also have been an expensive procedure.

Divorce records are held at the National Archives, this link might help you: http://tinyurl.com/2m5oxr

I believe I have heard it said somewhere that 'bigamy was the poor man's divorce'.

Jennifer

[Taffy Lee]

My G-G-Grandfather (James) married Caroline Green in 1875.

He then married a Mary McKenzie in 1897 in a registry office in Liverpool (he was defined as a bachelor)

Caroline died in March 1900.  James then married Mary McKenzie again in Sept 1900 in Liverpool Parish church (he was again defined as bachelor, and Mary as spinster!)

As far as I know, Caroline and James were not divorced.  James was not short of a coin or two, so I suspect their motives for not divorcing were other than financial.

Doesn't help Dolly's specific query - just another example of what went on.

Lee

[JenB]

For some reason the link I quoted earlier isn't working -  try this one!

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/divorce/step2.htm

Jennifer

[dolly dimples]

Jen & Lee.  many thank's for your replies , I will take a good look at the site Jen  gave,  Lees reply is  food for thought ain't it?    Will probably turn out to be a simple omission by the transcriber.. Cheers Dolly.

[Michael Dixon]

Complicated topic.

Up to 1857 the ONLY way to get a divorce was by an individual personal Act of Parliament. Very very expensive.

Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 allowed divorce in only certain cases, favoured men, ( e.g. adultery one-sided) and sometimes re-marriage was forbidden. Still expensive.

Another Act in 1923 tried to even up the sexes, but still costly.

Legal Aid for divorce intoduced 1949.

Church approach to divorce of course a different matter.

Michael Dixon.