Divorce or dissolution of marriage is a termination of a marital union because of irreversible differences between a married couple. The divorce entails cancellation of legal duties and responsibilities of marriage with the dissolution of bond under the rule of law of a county or state.
The earliest divorces were approved by the state legislatures and can be found listed in legislature records. However, County officials started maintaining divorce records when the courts were established in US. Early divorce records are found in dockets, minutes and case files of the county, circuit or district court. In some of US state, divorce were under the jurisdiction of a Chancery, common pleas, probate, superior or supreme judicial court.
Divorce records are often public documents which can be sourced from the court clerks. A genealogist can track clues of a divorce from separation and divorce news in newspaper archives.
Resources & Collections Free Ancestry Collections | Update on Nov 11, 2019
