The Day the Legislature Tried to Unmake a Marriage
In December 1860, Washington Territorial lawmakers debated a private bill to dissolve the bonds of matrimony between Onon Connolly and Sarah Connolly, restoring her maiden name.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Wednesday, December 12, 1860, during the early days of the new legislative session in Olympia, Mr. Caples introduced a highly unusual bill: "That the standing committee heretofore known as the 'Committee on Memorials' be hereafter designated as the committee on 'Federal Relations.'" Adopted.
The President announced the standing committees for the Council, including Education, Judiciary, and Military Affairs. Then came the peculiar legislative item:
Mr. Caples introduced a bill to dissolve the bonds of matrimony existing between Onon Connolly and Sarah Connolly, and to restore the said Sarah to her maiden name.
Head twice and referred to committee on Judiciary.
Today, divorce is handled by family courts through legal statutes regarding irreconcilable differences or fault. In 1860, however, the Territorial Legislature acted as both lawmaker and judge, handling private grievances like marriage dissolution via direct bills. This snippet reveals a time when civic governance was intensely personal and local, with legislators directly intervening in the private lives of their neighbors.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.