Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December 1785 until 1801
Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December, 1785, until 1801
Finding Aid
by Joshua Hershey Parry, 2022
Abstract
The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine (PGM) – called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1947 – was, until 2015, the third oldest continuing genealogical publication in the country. “Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December, 1785, until 1801” was published in Vol. 1, No. 4 of Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in December of 1898, the Committee on Publication for which comprised Francis Olcott Allen, Thomas Allen Glenn, and Gilbert Cope. The item is a roughly chronological summary list of 99 divorces granted between December 1785 and September 1801. Each record contains, at minimum, the names of the libellent and libellee and the date their divorce was granted. Other information varies by entry, and might include the date of marriage or an estimated date if known, the couple’s place of residence or origin, and the woman’s maiden name.
Background Note
The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine (PGM) – called Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1947 – was, until 2015, the third oldest continuing genealogical publication in the country. The publication has been on hiatus since 2015. “Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December, 1785, until 1801” was published in Vol. 1, No. 4 of Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in December of 1898. The Committee on Publication for this issue of the Publications comprised three eminent genealogists and historians: Francis Olcott Allen, Thomas Allen Glenn, and Gilbert Cope.
Gilbert Cope, the most revered of the three, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania on August 17, 1840, and became an honorary vice president of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in 1924 after a long life dedicated to assembling genealogical histories of the region surrounding Philadelphia. He died on December 17, 1928, and, in 1988, was elected as the third member of the National Genealogy Hall of Fame.
Francis Olcott Allen was born March 14, 1840 in Hartford, Connecticut. A business- and salesman by profession, he moved to Philadelphia in 1866, and turned his focus upon genealogy after retiring from business in 1892. He subsequently became a member of several societies, including the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, for which he became a corresponding secretary in 1895. Allen died in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on December 3, 1909.
Thomas Allen Glenn was a lifelong military man born in Philadelphia on January 8, 1864. He gained the rank of colonel during the Spanish-American War, and had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel by 1903. Having written several works on Welsh genealogy and history in the area surrounding his birthplace, he eventually followed his interest to Wales itself, where he moved in 1905 and died on January 30, 1948.
Scope and Content
“Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December, 1785, until 1801” is a roughly chronological summary list of 99 divorces granted between December 1785 and September 1801. Each record contains, at minimum, the names of the libellent and libellee and the date their divorce (including divorces “from bed and board”) was granted. The libellent (i.e., the person who has petitioned for the divorce) is listed first, and the libellee second. Other information varies by entry, and might include the date of marriage or an estimated date if known, the couple’s place of residence or origin, and the woman’s maiden name. Some other personal information about the couple might be included, such as whether either party was a widow or widower at the time of marriage. The reason for the petition for divorce is mentioned in very few of these summaries.
The Supreme Court continued to be responsible for granting divorces until 1805, and additional divorces granted by the court between 1800 and 1805 can be found in “Divorces by the Supreme Court, 1785-1815” in Vol. 44, No. 3 of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. County common pleas courts began granting divorces in 1804, records of which would be held by the individual courts or local governments, and are not included in this collection.
Collection Information
Physical Description
1 item
Provenance
“Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December, 1785, until 1801” was published in December of 1898 in Vol. 1, No. 4 of Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. It occupies pages 185 to 192. The records were presumably copied from originals held by the Supreme Court or government of Pennsylvania, although the State Library of Pennsylvania now cites Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania Vol. 1, No. 4 as the source for some divorce records from the period. Many original divorce papers, including supplemental documents submitted in support of the petition, are now in the care of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (Record Group 33). The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania holds a bound hard copy of this volume of the Publications.
Indexing Terms
Genre(s)
Vital statistics.
Geographic Name(s)
Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Personal Name(s)
n/a
Subject(s)
Divorce records–Pennsylvania–Philadelphia.
Divorce records–Pennsylvania.
Collection Overview
Allen, Francis Olcott, 1840-1909. Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928. Glenn, Thomas Allen, 1864-1948.
1 item
Detailed Inventory
Allen, Francis Olcott, 1840-1909. Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928. Glenn, Thomas Allen, 1864-1948.
- Divorces Granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from December, 1785, until 1801
1898
1 item
Abstract: Roughly chronological summary list of 99 divorces granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania between December 1785 and September 1801, including the names of the libellant and libellee, and the date on which their divorce was granted. Other information varies by entry, but might include the date of the couple’s marriage, their place of residence or origin, and in very few cases, the reason for the petition for divorce.
