Hey, does anybody know how or where I can find a copy of an old divorce decree from Colorado?
One of my great-grandmothers divorced her first husband to marry my great-grandpa, but I haven't been able to find the divorce papers. #familytree #geneaology
Great-gma worked in a soda fountain/cafe attached to the movie theater, & sold ice cream & treats to moviegoers.
Turns out one of those moviegoers must've been the handsome young butcher's apprentice, a blond-haired, blue-eyed fellow closer in age to great-gma. We don't know the details, but she came to Stratton with one husband & left with another: my great-gpa.
They settled in Cripple Creek, where my grandpa was born less than a year later.
Family has always talked about great-gran getting a divorce & remarrying... but I can't find paperwork for either the divorce or the remarriage. No Decree of Dissolution, no marriage license, nothing. I have my grandpa's birth certificate, along with other papers related to my great-grands: birth certificates, military service records, that sort of thing. But on the divorce? Nothing.
So I've always wondered what the story was there. Did great-gran have an affair with my great-gpa? What was the reason for the divorce? I don't think no-fault divorce was a thing in the 1920s in Colorado, but I don't know for sure - I've even had trouble finding info on the laws from back then.
@Impious_Jade
Hi! Have you looked for divorce records in nearby states? If CO divorce law was restrictive or took a long time, she (or her ex) might have gone to Reno or even Mexico. If she had extended family in less restrictive states further away, I'd check there, too.
@kaylcrawford Yeah I've wondered if maybe she went to Kansas or Wyoming. Figured I'd start with CO, and expand to another state if I didn't find anything.
@Impious_Jade Register of deeds in the county it happened, maybe.
@BillieBun Oh, that's a good call. Thank you!
@Impious_Jade If you wanted to spend the money, you could also try Ancestry. Somewhere around $25/month. They had information about ancestors of mine that I had never seen before.
@BillieBun Hee yeah I have an account already - this is where I first learned about the lack of documentation!
@Impious_Jade Oh... yeah, then Register of Deeds...If they still let people look at them. Some places are making docs unavailable
@Impious_Jade The state archives should have it, but it may need to be done in person, there are so many records that haven't been digitized. Sometimes you can request copies and have them sent to you, for a fee. Usually around $25-$35, I think.
What year(s)?
Women divorcing is something rare, depending on the time period - there may not be proof of legal divorce because there may not have been one. It's just the way it worked.
@PamsMyth 1922-ish. Grandpa was born in March of 1923, so the split was the year before. That's interesting re: proof of divorce - I wasn't aware of that, tho' it makes sense.
The story is intriguing: great-gma was from a farming family & had several sisters. When she was 19, she married a man about a decade her senior. Several years into it, they had a son (my grandpa's older half-brother). Somewhere in there, one of great-gma's sisters married into a wealthy ranching family & great-gma moved to Stratton, CO, to be closer to her sisters.