One Rhode Island Family

Divorce has been granted by the Rhode Island courts, and the governing bodies that preceded the court system, since the beginning of Rhode Island’s history.

Statistics on divorce

In 1896, statistics were published about divorces in the period 1869-1894. The Forty-second Report Relating to the Registry and Return of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, and of Divorce, in the State of Rhode Island for the Year Ending December 31, 1894, prepared by Gardner T. Swarts, M.D., (Providence: E.L. Freeman, 1896) devoted 6 pages to statistics on divorces applied for and granted in Rhode Island. No names are included.

As of 1894, divorce could be granted by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island for the following reasons (p. 144):

• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Willful desertion of five years for either of the parties, or for a shorter period, in the discretion of the court
• Continued drunkenness
• Neglect or refusal to provide necessaries (having ability) for the subsistence of a wife
• Gross misbehavior and wickedness other than the aforesaid
• Impotency

The book explains the portions of the marriage laws that, if disobeyed, would also invalidate a marriage (p. 144):

Divorces were also decreed, or marriages set aside, in the discretion of the court, for ascertained affinity, consanguinity, idiocy, insanity, penitentiary crimes, and bigamous or otherwise illegal marriage.

The following were the “causes alleged” in divorce filings in 1894 (note each case may contain more than one cause):

The numbers of divorce filings and outcomes in the period 1873-1894 ranged from 261 applications in 1873 to 506 in 1894, during a time of significant population growth. In that period, 7,222 applications were made, and 5,350 divorces were granted. The population at this time was topping 400,000.

Similar reports were published every year, although 1894 is the first year that contains specific pages about divorce. To see all statistical reports 1853 – 1937, visit Hathitrust.org. These do not contain names of individuals, but contain a lot of helpful data for understanding the communities of our ancestors, like occupations of men at the time of marriage, religions of those being married, ages at marriage. Seeing how many brides and grooms signed their name with a mark can highlight the growth of literacy in Rhode Island. There were even statistics on the churches most likely to perform a marriage for a previously divorced person. Causes of death, ages at death, and nativity of parents of those marrying also indicate trends that our ancestors were a part of.

Finding divorce records

If you believe your ancestors may have been among those numbers prior to 1900, you can try requesting a record from the Rhode Island Supreme Judicial Records Center:

Link to request form, Supreme Judicial Archives, Rhode Island. If the form doesn’t work try sending the same information in email to archives@courts.ri.gov .

They do not hold every county’s records, particularly after 1900, but you can try.

Although nothing in the archives is generally accessible by the public (must be shown by request), they have a Divorce index for Providence County, 1840-1905, which they can use for a quick look up. If found, the entry will indicate where the outcome of the case is recorded. There may also be a packet of papers. Other holdings will vary from county to county, during different time periods.

Another resource for Kent County divorce records is the article by Katherine Bruce and Violet E. Kettelle, “Kent County Divorces from Court Records,” Rhode Island Roots, Vol. 14, No, 2 (June 1988). One note, it refers to records at Providence College, but these days, those are contained in the Judicial Records Center. For other helpful content on all areas of Rhode Island genealogy, Rhode Island Genealogical Society members have access to ALL issues online; others can link to the older issues through the RI Genealogical Society website.

Of the other New England states, Massachusetts appeared to have the lowest level of divorce in these years of the late 1800’s, so always consider the possibility that a Massachusetts marriage may have ended with residence, however briefly, in nearby Rhode Island towns (see chart, page 149).

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