Forced by a divorce decree to pay his former wife monthly, quarterly, and yearly alimony installments, Nathaniel Stevens seeks relief. He argues that his employment as a steamboat pilot is sometimes sporadic, and that he suffers from rheumatism which sometimes keeps him away from work. Furthermore, his eldest daughter and her husband live with him free of charge. The payments under these circumstances, Nathaniel asserts, are "extremely burdensome & oppressive" and should be reduced. He also complains that his former wife makes it very difficult for him to visit his twelve-year-old daughter Isabella; he requests that the court appoint her a guardian to remove her from her mother's "evil and pernicious influences." In her related 1856 petition, Caroline Stevens, the former Caroline Sullivan, prayed for divorce on the grounds that her husband had abandoned her and was cohabitating with a free black woman.
Result: Partially granted.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: University of South Alabama Archives, Mobile, Alabama
