Hester M. Dodd prays for a divorce from her husband, Robert C. Dodd. Hester married Robert in 1841 and lived with him "without any disagreement or disturbance" until 1845, when they moved to Nashville; the couple has five children, ranging in age from two to fifteen years old. The petitioner laments that her husband for the last two years "has failed ... to give your Oratrix and her children his company, assistance, and countenance, or to provide them with necessaries, except at uncertain intervals." She confides that her husband has not even come home for the past seven weeks, spending his time instead "amongst women of ill fame" engaging in "adulterous intercourse." Hester further charges that he "is fast disposing of all the little property they have had" and that only a slave girl, "a couple of horses, a wagon and carryall" remain. Hester asks the court to grant her a divorce and to award her husband's remaining property to her and her children. She also requests custody of the children, "whom she will attempt to shelter and raise to the best of her ability." The petitioner also prays for injunctions against Dodd to prevent him from removing any of the property or taking the children.
Result: Granted.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Archives
