20184306https://dlas.uncg.edu/petitions/petition/20184306AlabamaSumterCounty2551843Chancery1843Chanceryabated003Sumter County Courthouse, Livingston, AlabamaCatharine Underwood seeks a divorce and property settlement from her husband Joel Underwood on the grounds of cruelty and adultery with a female slave. Six months into the marriage, Catharine reports, Joel "assumed a coldness and indifference towards her," which escalated to physical threats and abuse. In addition, she asserts that Joel commenced an "adulterous connexion" with a female slave he had purchased. Catharine charges that it was due to this illicit relationship that her husband "communicated to your oratrix a disease too loathsome and shocking to mention." She therefore asks the court for a divorce.AdulteryDivorceDomestic violenceDiseases (physical)DrunkennessInterracial relationshipsAbandonment