GENEALOGY RESOURCES 
City Directories: Divorces

Have you been unable to find a divorce record in probate court records online for one or more of your ancestors? Try looking in a directory where they resided. A few old city directories have Population Statistics sections that include divorce listings.

In the example above, no final decree date is given; but, you can narrow the parting down to an inclusive year (in this case, May 25, 1905 to June 1, 1906).

RESEARCH TIP: If an ancestor is married in one census and enumerated as a widow or widower in the next, and, if you have been unable to find a death record for the deceased spouse involved, you might suspect a divorce occurred rather than a death. Divorce carried a stigma in our early culture, especially for our female ancestors; so, check out city directories for the years between censuses to see if a divorce is listed.