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Särskilda ämnen & övrigt => Discussions in English => General questions => Ämnet startat av: Gwen Stuler skrivet 2014-02-05, 17:40
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In Rites of Passage in Sweden by Ingela Martenius she mentions that divorce in the 1800's was possible through the diocese, not the state. I would like to know:
1. how is divorce noted in the Household Records for both the father and his children and for the woman(presumably living elsewhere).
2. Are there other records available related to a divorce.
3.. What were the divorced woman's options? live with parents/relatives or live alone?
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Though divorce was possible it was fairly unusual, and I don't there were any fixed rules on how the local priest were to treat such unusual events. There would also be great variations depending och time and social standing. I have followed about a dozen instances of divorce among farmers, torpare, soldiers and cottagers in the 19th century:
1. Normally the date and the fact of the divorce is recorded in the columns frejd or anmärkningar in the Houshold records for both the man and the woman and it would also be noted on the moving-out certificates. If nothing else it was important for the local priest to keep track of who was free to marry and who was not. Towards the end of the 19th century when divorce became slightly more usual, people are occasionally given the title frånskiljd man/hustru or frsk m/hu instead of the more common of man, dräng, piga etc.
2. There are records of the proceedings of the domkapitel, but I don't think they are online.
3. I think they simply went on with life as if the marriage had been disolved through death rather than divorce. In most of the cases I have seen, the divorce was only filed after several years of separation, often because the husband had moved away to find work elsewhere. In such cases the woman would go on living in the same place and bringing up the children, but the divorce would mean she and the absent husband were free to remarry. In another case where a couple divorced after the betrothal but before the actual marriage ceremony, both the man and the woman continued working as farmhand and farmmaid until they met somebody else to marry and set up a home with. It was only very few and very wealthy swedes who could afford to live at home until marriage anyway, so there would be no need for an unmarried or divorced woman to move in with relatives.
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Thank you, Lina! I was discussing Ms. Martenius's article with my Swedish Genealogy Group that meets once a month to discuss research and someone just had to ask the above question! I did not have the answer but knew where I could get it quickly..........thanks again.