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How do I find divorce records?

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  • How do I find divorce records?

    I am trying to find out when my grandparents divorced. This is a big gap in my records.
    Samual Goostry (nice unusual namefor searching ) and Edith Smith. Sam was born 21 June 1898 in Oldham, Lancs and Edith 1899 in Otley, Yorkshire. They married in 1920 in Oldham. The marraige is shown as dissolved when Edith remarried in 1968.
    I can find most things on Ancestry.co.uk but do not know where to access divorce records.
    Can anyone advise me of the procedure.

  • #4
    you will probably have to apply to the court that is local to the couple, there is a place in london (High Holborn?) I think it is that holds records of divorces, but I am not aware of such things being online. You might be lucky if you search the newspapers local to where they were living as I understand they used to have little sections in papers where things like this were published.

    maybe someone else that is more knowledgeable than me will be able to answer you better. But I do know about the court having records as I have had copies of Decree absolute from them.
    Julie
    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

    .......I find dead people

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    • #5
      Thank you for these replies. I will look at the links you have kindly provided. My problem with applying to the court in Oldham is that I have no idea of the year of the divorce. Would I need this to apply?

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      • #6
        ideally yes, though I do believe that they will search a few years either way of the date. it might be an idea to look at electoral rolls to get an idea of what years they were living at an address and work from there?
        Julie
        They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

        .......I find dead people

        Comment


        • #7
          Originally posted by Muppet View Post
          Thank you for these replies. I will look at the links you have kindly provided. My problem with applying to the court in Oldham is that I have no idea of the year of the divorce. Would I need this to apply?
          This can be quite an expensive exercise.

          When I applied for divorce record I didn't know year of divorce, but knew when couple split up + when one of them remarried ... a span of 20 years. It cost £60 to cover timespan as they charged £30 to search 10 years. However some interesting info in divorce documents.

          This was a couple of years ago ... so fees may have changed since then.
          Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today ~ follow your dream!

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          • #8
            this is the place in london where the records are kept

            Julie
            They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

            .......I find dead people

            Comment


            • #9
              Thanks very much. I think cost will stop me doing too much on this one. I hate admitting defeat but think I will have to for the time being. I will keep a note of your helpful advice.

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              • #10
                Hi - could this be a 2nd marriage for Samuel?
                Marriages Mar 1942
                Ec*les An*ie Goostry Oldham 8d 1704
                Goostry Samuel Eccles Oldham 8d 1704
                so that would give you an idea of when the divorce took place..

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                • #11
                  Indeed it is and thank you very much. I now know that the divorce took place between 1930 and 1942.

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                  • #12
                    There are these births showing for Goostry and Smith as a mother - if from the same parents, there's quite a gap...mind you, there's the same gap with me and my youngest brother ;-)...http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl
                    Births Jun 1921
                    Goostry Nor*an Smith Oldham 8d 1317
                    Births Jun 1938
                    Goostry J**e C Smith Oldham 8d 1067

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                    • #13
                      They are both children of Edith. The first is my Dad and the second is his half sister from when Edith was with a Harry Travis.
                      I only discovered her existance a few months back and we had a very emotional day at Christmas when she and Dad met for the first time.
                      I have not been able to locate a marriage record for Edith and Harry Travis and I know she left him, and her young daughter, probably around 1942. She registered the birth of her daughter a both J C Travis and J C Goostry.
                      When Edith married in 1968 to Alexander Hay Morrison, she showed herself as Edith Travis, formerly Edith Goostry with her previous marriage as dissoved.
                      I would love to know if she did actually marry Harry but suspect she did not as i don't think she would have registered the birth of J C as both travis and Goostry is she had married him.

                      I had hoped to like Edith as I learnt more about her but all I can see is that she abandoned two young children to different men and it looks to me as though she was a selfish woman.

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                      • #14
                        Hi - wow, you had a big Christmas! Must have been quite a shock for your father, and for J, but it's great that they met up.
                        I couldn't see a marriage to Harry either...but did see this for Oldham - could be a different man though...
                        Marriages Mar 1944
                        DI*KIN*ON I*a E Travis Oldham 8d 1108
                        TR*VIS Ha**y Dickinson Oldham 8d 1108

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                        • #15
                          I don't think Harry Travis married Edith at all. He had been married before, believed to be to a Gertrude but cannot find any record of that. He died in around 1947 leaving J to be passed round to various distant family members, none of whom wanted her. She had a very unhappy life. She is so thrilled to have found a half brother!

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                          • #16
                            Hey there! Here's a resource I found on how to obtain divorce records in UK. Keep in mind that although it charges users £5.00 for every use, there is free 30-day trial use, just enough time to get you to see what you need. Hope to have helped and good luck!

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                            • #17
                              Thank you very much for that. Will sort out all the divorces I want to try to find and have a go on the 30 day trial.

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                              • #18
                                I enquired recently of a court about a divorce record where I knew within a year when it happened.
                                They said they charge £30 for the decree absolute only - I couldn't have any other information about the reason for the divorce as that is confidential to those involved. All the public are entitled to see is a decree absolute which gives the date the marriage is confirmed as ended.
                                Margaret

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