Do you think your New York ancestors or relatives obtained a divorce in New York? It is possible, but for over 300 years obtaining a New York divorce was not an easy matter.
In colonial times there was only brief period between 1655 and 1675 when divorces were granted in New Netherland and New York. The best study of divorce in colonial New York - which is free and available to read on New York Heritage - is an article Divorce in Colonial New York by Matteo Spalletta in The New-York Historical Society Quarterly 39 (1955): 422-440.
In 1787, after the Revolution, the New York State Legislature enacted a law which permitted divorce on the grounds of adultery. With few exceptions this remained the only grounds under which divorces were granted in the state until 1967. Divorces were granted at first by the Chancery Court, a state court, but in 1847 the power was transferred to Supreme Court in each county.
Each County Clerk has maintained an index to "matrimonial actions" (divorces, legal separations, annulments). The index maintained by the Clerk of New York County (Manhattan) includes the Chancery Court divorces for the southern half of the state 1787-1847; those for the northern half are included in Chancery Court records at the State Archives.
All of these county indexes are open to the public. However, the divorce files which they index are sealed for 100 years. If the divorce was granted more than 100 years ago, you can examine the file, which is also in the custody of the County Clerk.
The April 1998 issue of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record includes New York County's index to matrimonial actions 1787-1840. The introduction to that article repeats the information given above, with additional details.
If a couple was divorced in New York before 1967, the divorce decree would usually specify that the innocent party was free to remarry while the guilty party (the adulterer) was not. The guilty party usually did remarry anyway, but left New York State to do so.
Because a divorce on any grounds was so tinged with scandal, it was not unusual for couples to separate without the benefit of the law. They would then pretend to be single or widowed, and often remarry, usually in another state.
New Yorkers unwilling or unable to charge their spouses with adultery also sometimes obtained divorces elsewhere. In the 20th century (up to 1967) this often meant travelling to the divorce capital of Reno, Nevada, or hiring a lawyer to obtaining a divorce from another country, particularly Mexico, followed by remarriage outside of New York.
From early in the 18th century many New Yorkers, especially from New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley, went to neighboring Connecticut where divorces were granted for desertion, fraudulent contract, or seven years’ absence, in addition to adultery. See New Yorkers in Some Connecticut Divorces for lists of surnames of New Yorkers obtaining divorces in Hartford, Litchfield, New London, Tolland, and Windham counties (the coverage varies by county, ranging from 1719 to 1922). Beginning in 1796, one party had to be a resident of Connecticut for three years before a divorce would be granted.
by Harry Macy Jr., FASG, FGBS
Vetted for accuracy July 2011
© 2011 The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
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