Petition #20184804

Abstract

In 1818, Henry Norrell married Delila Calhoun in Abbeville District, South Carolina. A short time after their marriage his wife became obsessed with the idea that he was "having illicit intercourse" with one of his slaves, and eventually, to appease her, he sold the slave "at a very reduced price, & at great sacrifice." Later, he sold another woman for the same reason. In 1842, the couple moved to Alabama, where they farmed and raised a family of ten children. Now, he complains, they "do not lie on the same bed nor have any connection as man & wife" because of her jealousy and charges of adultery and "illicit connection[s] with other women." He has just discovered, however, that it is his wife who is guilty "of crimes of the foulest cast & of the blackest hue." Claiming that she is guilty of adultery with a man named Easterwood, and has given birth to another man's child, he asks for a divorce.

Result: Dismissed.

2 people are documented within petition 20184804

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Citation information

Repository: Tallapoosa County Courthouse, Dadeville, Alabama

Subjects