Elizabeth Armistead "free woman wife of Joseph Armistead" seeks a divorce from her husband, a free man of color. The petitioner laments that the said Joseph "has frequently been insufferably abusive to her and drove her away from his house, until to protect herself from his violence and mal treatment she was compelled to fly his residence and seek refuge in the house of her mother Nancy Walden." Armistead further reveals that her husband has cohabited with another woman, living "with her in open adultery, having his washing done by her and sleeping with her contrary to his marriage vows." Noting that "the only property owned by your oratrix is one moiety of a lot and tenement ... which will become mine at the death of my Mother," the petitioner prays that she "may be entirely divorced and the marriage be dissolved" and that her said real property "will not be subject to his demands or use, or any way liable to his debts."
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Circuit Court Clerk's Office, Petersburg, Virginia
