The Williams County Genealogical Society met Monday, March 13, 2017 in the Harmon Room of the West Annex, Bryan Public Library.
Pamela Pattison Lash was the speaker for the evening. She is a blogger and a passionate genealogist and works at the West Annex of the Bryan Public Library which houses genealogical information for Williams County and other areas. She is available for hire to do genealogical research and can be contacted at pam_lash@yahoo,com.
Just as obituaries contain a wealth of information so do the legal papers associated with divorce. Final court proceedings may tell the names of the parties divorcing (plaintiff and defendant), the grounds for divorce, the final outcome, whether or not a maiden name or former name is restored, date of finalization and who paid the court costs.
In the early 1900’s grounds for divorce were as follows:1 – Willfully absent for three years or more [ e.g. abandonment, imprisonment, in mental facility] 2 – Adultery
3 – Gross neglect of duty [ failure to provide financial support, clothing, food, housing or martial rights] 4 – Fraudulent marriage contract 5 – Extreme cruelty 6 – Habitual drunk-enness for three years or more.
In addition the following information may be included:
~ the marriage date and/or place of marriage, who officiated the ceremony may be found
~ statement of residency in Ohio and the county
~ names of minor children; sometimes including birth dates of the children
~ dates of evidence that corroborate the grounds for divorce. [ specific dates of abuse, adultery or abandonment may be mentioned]
~ statement of desire for divorce, reasonable alimony, custody of children, visitation rights
~ description of land or real estate and its value and whether it has liens, mortgages, etc.
~ description of personal property
~ deposition of witnesses
~ financial status of the parties
~ names and residences of parents or relatives who may be witnesses
~ military service
~ newspaper notification running six consecutive weeks in a county newspaper with proof of this public notice signed by the paper’s editor along with a clipping of the actual notification and the initial or last date of publication.
Our next meeting is April 22 from 2-4 pm. in the Harmon Room. Two local chapters of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) will sponsor a presentation about how to apply to join the lineage society. The two chapters are the Joel Frost Chapter and the Scout David Williams Chapter.
Judy Jennings will be the presenter, you can learn more about this patriotic service organization at www.dar.org. The class is free and open to the public. It will be in the Harmon Room so space is limited. Please contact Ronda Garbin if you wish to attend; (419) 551-1512; or rondagarbin@gmail.com
The purpose of the WCGS is the preservation of county records and family research. Monthly meetings are held the second Monday of each month, excluding July and Au-gust, in the Harmon Room of the West Annex of the Bryan Public Library. For further information concerning WCGS, email Pat Goebel wcgspg01@gmail.com, visit the Web-site at www.wcgs-orgs.com, or write to WCGS, PO Box 293, Bryan, OH 43506.
INFORMATION PROVIDED