Watkins Jones, a free person of color, asks for a divorce from his wife, Arena. Jones represents that "in the year 1845 the said Arena voluntarily deserted your orator, without any just cause of complaint against him, and commenced an adulterous connection with a certain Gilbert Bailey, and she has ever since that time up to the present hour lived a life of the most shameless depravity." The petitioner contends that his wife "is now living with a certain Thomas Parham, a free man of colour in this city." Citing that he "has not cohabited with her since such acts of adultery were committed, he is entitled to a divorce from the bond of matrimony." The petitioner also prays that "he be not required to make any provision for the future support of his said wife."
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Circuit Court Clerk's Office, Petersburg, Virginia
