John Wallis petitions the Superior Court On April 4, 1738, at sundown, a child was born to Sarah Burt Wallis — or in the legalese of subsequent court records, this was “a Child Said to be born of ye body of Sarah Wallis alias Burt.” The child became the basis for a petition for divorce …
Continue reading ““A Child Said To Be Born”: John Wallis’s three petitions for divorce”
In his petition to the General Court, John Wallis said he desired a dispensation or divorce “to secure him from any penalty of ye Laws Respecting Polygamy” should he marry another. Polygamy was not theoretical as a prospect for John. Although divorce cases were not common in early 18th-century Connecticut, in February 1722/23, David Scott …
Continue reading “Another divorce in the neighbourhood: David Scott, polygamist”
Lisa Gannett 