In 1833 slaveholder Stephen Lee and Caroline Duncan married; they now have five children, three of whom still live at home. Stephen states "that for some time he has had apprehensions caused by the suspicious conduct of the said Caroline on different occasions and by intimations and Statements from others principally Negro servants." Once Lee had become "satisfied in his own mind that the said Caroline had been guilty of adultery," he began occupying a separate chamber "and ceased to cohabit with her, adopting this course to save himself and family from the dishonor and degradation attendant on the publicity of such a disclosure." Shortly after this, Lee found out that a secret written correspondence existed between his wife and Frederick J. Watts for the purpose of arranging "the times and places of their assignations for sexual criminal intercourse with each other." Believing that his wife's behavior could have a detrimental effect on his daughters, Lee asks the court for a divorce from his wife and for "the exclusive controul management and education" of the children. He also asks the court to sell his wife's real estate and to award the proceeds to him for the support of the children.
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
