Thomas M. Oliver accuses his wife Frances of adultery, having "prostituted herself before marriage." At the time of their marriage, he believed she was a virtuous woman, but after their marriage he discovered otherwise, partly, he contends, through her own written confessions to him. Thomas claims that, in letters written from New Bern while on a visit to relatives, she admitted having committed "fornication" before marriage, and adultery afterwards, Thomas relates; in fact, she had instructed the slaves to tell visitors she was not at home when she was in the bedroom, with "the doors locked & window curtains let down," with her paramour. Oliver seeks a divorce. In her lengthy answer to the charges, Frances denies having been an unchaste woman before and during her marriage; she blames her baseless confessions on the fervor and torment of a religious conversion experience that made her feel worthless and drove her to question her conduct toward her husband.
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Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
