21284406https://dlas.uncg.edu/petitions/petition/21284406North CarolinaWakeCounty1844Superior002North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North CarolinaThomas 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.AdulteryDivorceSlanderChurchesAbandonment Sex workers/Promiscuity