{"id":3911,"date":"2024-10-03T15:09:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T15:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/?p=3911"},"modified":"2024-10-24T07:40:32","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T07:40:32","slug":"whats-in-a-divorce-case-file","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in a divorce case file?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"413\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png\" alt=\"This image is the front cover of an old paper Divorce Court case file. It is a dirty shade of cream with black writing on it, some printed and some handwritten. The writing says 7764 in the top right-hand corner. On the left the letters UND. are stamped in red with the numbers 145 handwritten next to it. Below this in print it says: In the High Court of Justice PROBATE, DIVORCE, AND ADMIRALTY DIVISION (DIVORCE.) In handwriting it says: H.D. Below in handwriting it then says: Lodge Frederick James v Lodge Mary Ann &amp; Dudley Joseph. Below this in print it says: COURT MINUTES. Below this in black print it says Petition Filed, followed by the date 3 July 1907 handwritten in black ink. Below this in print it says Setting Down Cause, followed by the date 6 September 1907 handwritten in black ink. Below this in print it says Decree Nisi, followed by the date 11 Nov 1907 handwritten in black ink. Below this in print it says Final Decree, followed by the date 18 May 1908 handwritten in black ink. Below this is a square box with the letters DA inside, stamped in black ink. At the bottom are small illegible letters printed onto the sheet. On the back page which is visible when the sheet of paper is opened is a green sticker and on it are the words: Closed until 2009. Stamped on top of this in red ink is a cross with the words CANCELLED inside.\" class=\"wp-image-3909\" style=\"width:413px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png 413w, https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image-194x300.png 194w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Example of a divorce case file front cover. <br>Source Citation: The National Archives; London, England, UK; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Files, J 77; Reference Number: J 77\/914\/7764; Series Number: J 77; Piece Number: 914.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/how-to-find-divorce-court-records-estimated-read-time-3-minutes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our last blog<\/a> we outlined how to find Divorce Court records, so that you can use them in your own research, whether that\u2019s for academic study or to explore your own family history. Once you start to delve inside the case files, you\u2019ll find some fascinating information that can tell you a great deal about the lives of your ancestors, their marriages, their divorces and their family in the past. But what information is held within the case files? According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/help-with-your-research\/research-guides\/divorce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The National Archives<\/a> the case files may contain:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the original petition and response&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>relevant marriage certificates&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>birth certificates of children&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a record of the court process&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>copies of decrees (from about 1870- c1937)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>evidence (infrequently)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In future blogs we\u2019ll explore these different elements of a divorce case file, but today we\u2019re going to focus on the front cover that contains a summary of important information related to the case (see our example image of the front cover of a case file). This includes the <strong>Case File Reference<\/strong>, usually found at the top of the page, which is usually one to five digits long, including numbers and in earlier examples even letters. These correlate with the last digits of the J77 reference the case file has been given in <a href=\"https:\/\/discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/details\/r\/C9685\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The National Archives Discovery Catalogue<\/a>. In our example image, the front cover of a case file, the numbers 7764 are written at the top, the last digits of the J77 reference which is J77\/914\/7764.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Names<\/strong> of the main litigants in the case can also be found on the front cover of every file. The litigant\u2019s names sometimes only include the surname, but later case files contain a surname followed by the forename\/s. For a divorce case, the names of the husband and the wife are always included, but the order they appear varies depending on their role in the litigation. The \u2018petitioner\u2019, the spouse who has petitioned for the divorce, is always listed first on the front cover. In our example, this is the husband, Frederick James Lodge. The \u2018respondent\u2019, the spouse who\u2019s being accused of committing a marital offence (the grounds for the divorce), is listed second. In our example, this is the wife, Mary Ann Lodge. In cases like this, where the husband petitioned for divorce, the front cover of the case file usually also includes the name of a \u2018co-respondent\u2019 who is the person (or persons) who the husband alleged committed adultery with his wife. In our example, Joseph Dudley is named as a \u2018co-respondent\u2019.\u00a0 In contrast, when a wife was petitioning for a divorce and alleging her husband had committed adultery with a woman, her name would not appear on the front cover of the case file even if she was named in the documents within the file. This was because a female petitioner could not claim damages from a female co-respondent (in the same way a male petitioner could from a male co-respondent), and so they are not named as parties to the legal suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Important <strong>Dates <\/strong>and the court\u2019s <strong>Decision<\/strong> are also included on the front cover of a case file. A date when the petition was filed (the first stage of the case) is always included, in our example this was on 3 July 1907. Sometimes, but not always in earlier case files, the date when the cause was set down (the case was put in the calendar to be heard) is included. Our example does include this date as the 6 September 1907, two months after the petition was filed. This is followed by two further dates, the Decree Nisi and Final Decree stage of the process. The Decree Nisi was the point when the case was heard in the Divorce Court and a divorce was denied or agreed to in principle, but the spouses were not legally able to remarry. In our example the Decree Nisi was granted on the 11 November 1907. If you\u2019re looking for newspaper reports on the case, you\u2019re most likely to find them in the days and weeks following this stage of the process. The Final Decree was the point where a Decree Absolute was granted, officially dissolving the marriage and allowing the former spouses to legally remarry. This stage happened in the Divorce Court, but the litigants weren\u2019t required to attend, as it only took a few minutes for a Decree Absolute to be declared. In our example, the date the Decree Absolute was granted was 18 May 1908. This was in line with the six-month mandatory waiting period required between the Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, as we saw in <a href=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/how-to-find-divorce-court-records-estimated-read-time-3-minutes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our last blog<\/a>, the Divorce Court also heard other types of cases including petitions for judicial separations, orders of protection, the restitution of conjugal rights and decrees of nullity but the same cover sheet was used for all cases. This means that you will often see the words \u2018Decree Nisi\u2019 or Final Decree\u2019 crossed out, and handwriting added indicating the type of case. For example, a Decree of Nullity also had two stages which will say \u2018Decree Nullity\u2019 (when the case was heard in the Divorce Court and agreed to in principle) and \u2018Final Nullity\u2019 (when the nullity was finalised and both litigants allowed to legally remarry). You might also see the words \u2018Decree RCR\u2019 (a Decree for Restitution of Conjugal Rights) or \u2018Decree JS\u2019 (a Decree of Judicial Separation). For these types of cases there was only one date listed, this was when the case was heard in the Divorce Court, and if successful granted. If dates are missing this indicates that the case failed to proceed further, and it will usually be made clear why, with words such as \u2018Dismissed\u2019 or King\u2019s Proctor Intervened\u2019 written on the front alongside a date.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The front cover usually includes a form of coding to show the <strong>type of case<\/strong> that the file contains, although the coding isn\u2019t always correct so it\u2019s best to check what\u2019s inside to be sure. Earlier case files are less consistent in the form the coding takes, with a \u2018D\u2019 for Divorce or \u2018JS\u2019 for Judicial Separation sometimes noted, without any indication of whether it was a husband or a wife petitioning. This developed into \u2018WX\u2019 or \u2018HX\u2019 sometimes being used which meant \u2018Wife\u2019s Petition\u2019 or \u2018Husband\u2019s Petition\u2019, which doesn\u2019t tell you the type of case. When you\u2019re faced with this, it\u2019s important to read the case file itself for clarification. From 1906 we start to see more consistency in the coding, <a href=\"https:\/\/discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/details\/r\/C9686\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this page on The National Archives website<\/a> includes a handy index of these codes to help you in your own research.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HD: Petition by husband for decree of divorce&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WD: Petition by wife for decree of divorce&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HN: Petition by husband for decree of nullity&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WN: Petition by wife for decree of nullity&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HJS: Petition by husband for decree of judicial separation&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WJS: Petition by wife for decree of judicial separation&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HRCR: Petition by husband for decree of restitution of conjugal rights&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WRCR: Petition by wife for decree of restitution of conjugal rights&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Legit: Petition for declaration of legitimacy&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Div Ct: Appeal to Divisional Court from Justices&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Prot: Application for order for protection of wife&#8217;s earnings and property&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our example has the initials HD handwritten in the top right-hand corner, showing that this is a husband\u2019s petition for divorce. In the coming weeks blogs we\u2019ll explore the different types of cases heard at the Divorce Court in more detail, including what they were, the grounds on which they could be obtained, and the legal, financial and emotional impact they could have on unhappily married spouses trying to navigate their way through the court process.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>If you\u2019d like any help reading a divorce case, please contact us via social media or our website. You can find us <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>on the projects <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>website,<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> on<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> X (formerly Twitter) <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Divorce_History\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>@Divorce_History<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> , <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@new_divorce_history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Threads<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>, <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/new_divorce_history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Instagram<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> or <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/New-Histories-of-Divorce-for-Family-Historians-Genealogists\/61561076532076\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Facebook<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> where we <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>regularly post news about the project and helpful advice on how to use divorce court records in your own research.<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our last blog we outlined how to find Divorce Court records, so that you can use them in your own research, whether that\u2019s for academic study or to explore your own family history. Once you start to delve inside the case files, you\u2019ll find some fascinating information that can tell you a great deal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[50,31,22,41,43,25,47,52],"class_list":["post-3911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ancestry","tag-archives","tag-divorce","tag-family-history","tag-genealogy","tag-marriage","tag-records","tag-the-national-archives"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What\u2019s in a divorce case file? - A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What\u2019s in a divorce case file? - A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In our last blog we outlined how to find Divorce Court records, so that you can use them in your own research, whether that\u2019s for academic study or to explore your own family history. Once you start to delve inside the case files, you\u2019ll find some fascinating information that can tell you a great deal [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-03T15:09:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-24T07:40:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"413\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Divorce History\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Divorce History\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Divorce History\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e1b45bb12fda6522dadb2802a820dcb4\"},\"headline\":\"What\u2019s in a divorce case file?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-03T15:09:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-24T07:40:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1426,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/Blog-4-Image.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Ancestry\",\"Archives\",\"Divorce\",\"Family History\",\"Genealogy\",\"Marriage\",\"Records\",\"The National Archives\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/\",\"name\":\"What\u2019s in a divorce case file? - A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/Blog-4-Image.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-03T15:09:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-24T07:40:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/Blog-4-Image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/Blog-4-Image.png\",\"width\":413,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Example of a divorce case file front cover. Source Citation: The National Archives; London, England, UK; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Files, J 77; Reference Number: J 77\\\/914\\\/7764; Series Number: J 77; Piece Number: 914.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What\u2019s in a divorce case file?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/\",\"name\":\"A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Northumbria University\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/cropped.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/cropped.png\",\"width\":1191,\"height\":382,\"caption\":\"Northumbria University\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e1b45bb12fda6522dadb2802a820dcb4\",\"name\":\"Divorce History\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7c685d969a04da71f3b6ef4a9bec25188ebf934f2475274b208a9f2e4213d68?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7c685d969a04da71f3b6ef4a9bec25188ebf934f2475274b208a9f2e4213d68?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7c685d969a04da71f3b6ef4a9bec25188ebf934f2475274b208a9f2e4213d68?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Divorce History\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\\\/divorce_history\\\/author\\\/sjvt5\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What\u2019s in a divorce case file? - A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What\u2019s in a divorce case file? - A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923","og_description":"In our last blog we outlined how to find Divorce Court records, so that you can use them in your own research, whether that\u2019s for academic study or to explore your own family history. Once you start to delve inside the case files, you\u2019ll find some fascinating information that can tell you a great deal [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/","og_site_name":"A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923","article_published_time":"2024-10-03T15:09:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-24T07:40:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":413,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Divorce History","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Divorce History","Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/"},"author":{"name":"Divorce History","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#\/schema\/person\/e1b45bb12fda6522dadb2802a820dcb4"},"headline":"What\u2019s in a divorce case file?","datePublished":"2024-10-03T15:09:50+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-24T07:40:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/"},"wordCount":1426,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png","keywords":["Ancestry","Archives","Divorce","Family History","Genealogy","Marriage","Records","The National Archives"],"articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/","url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/","name":"What\u2019s in a divorce case file? - A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png","datePublished":"2024-10-03T15:09:50+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-24T07:40:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Blog-4-Image.png","width":413,"height":640,"caption":"Example of a divorce case file front cover. Source Citation: The National Archives; London, England, UK; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Files, J 77; Reference Number: J 77\/914\/7764; Series Number: J 77; Piece Number: 914."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/whats-in-a-divorce-case-file\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What\u2019s in a divorce case file?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/","name":"A New Methodological Approach to the History of Divorce, 1857-1923","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#organization","name":"Northumbria University","url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/cropped.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/cropped.png","width":1191,"height":382,"caption":"Northumbria University"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/#\/schema\/person\/e1b45bb12fda6522dadb2802a820dcb4","name":"Divorce History","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7c685d969a04da71f3b6ef4a9bec25188ebf934f2475274b208a9f2e4213d68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7c685d969a04da71f3b6ef4a9bec25188ebf934f2475274b208a9f2e4213d68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7c685d969a04da71f3b6ef4a9bec25188ebf934f2475274b208a9f2e4213d68?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Divorce History"},"url":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/author\/sjvt5\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3911"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4073,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3911\/revisions\/4073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hosting.northumbria.ac.uk\/divorce_history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}