Emma Hyde married William Weedon in 1850 and they lived together until 2 June 1862. Emma Weedon claims that her husband's conduct towards her throughout their marriage has been "both in words and deeds brutal and inhuman," but in the last year his violence has "become so insufferable that she can no longer live with him without exposure to perpetual peril of bodily hurt which must infallibly shorten her life as it has already impaired her health." One violent incident culminated in William locking the family out of doors "during the whole of a cold, wet and inclement winter's night ... in consequence of which and from bruises and blows previously inflicted by the said William she has lost the sight of one of her eyes." He has also threatened to shoot and kill her, and "more than once has pointed a loaded gun at her, and put a loaded pistol to her breast." She claims that she has no property of her own and is entirely destitute and dependent on her father, while William has "a large and valuable" estate, including servants. Emma Weedon asks the court to grant her a divorce from her husband with suitable alimony and custody of their children.
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
