My friends - Today, I am returning to a series that I started about 18 months ago, concerning Kentucky Court of Appeals cases which could be both interesting and instructive for us. I sometimes receive inquiries about whether pre-nuptial agreements existed in the 19th century, and, if so, were they recognized by the courts. This posting deals with that question. Although the opinion in this case was rendered by the Court of Appeals in the Fall Term of 1841, from an appeal in Fayette County, where this couple resided, the appellant, Archibald Logan had apparently resided at one time in McCracken County or the JP region. The case facts are shown below, and the court opinion will follow in tomorrow's post. On 5 August 1835, Archibald Logan, a widower, married Eleanor Robb, a widow. Both parties were about 70 years old at that time. They both had been married previously and had children from previous marriages. Prior to the marriage, they had entered into a written pre-nuptial agreement that stated that neither of them would or could claim, by survivorship or otherwise, any right to the property of the other. Both parties had pristine reputations for "...personal honor, domestic virtues and Christian graces...", according to the Court's opinion. They lived together is apparent perfect harmony until February of 1838, when Mrs. Logan suddenly began upbraiding her husband for alleged complaints and grievances, none satisfactorily established later by proof of any sort. Things grew worse, with the outbursts, answered by Mr. Logan's own angry denials and retorts, becoming so great that they were seen publicly. Mr. Logan finally expressed a conviction that a dissolution of the marriage was inevitable and said that he was "sinking fast". He left his house and his wife with, as he said, "...a view to a permanent separation...". He directed the tenant who rented his house, however, to treat Mrs.Logan well and allow her to stay as long as she chose. Mrs. Logan moved out the next day and never returned. Later that same week, Mr. Logan moved back into his house again. Within ten days, Mrs. Logan brought a suit in chancery(equity) court against her husband, charging him with enormous cruelty, aggravated by abandonment, which Mr. Logan absolutely denied, saying that Mrs. Logan's unprovoked misconduct forced him into leaving her as the "...only alternative consistent with my honor and happiness, the decorum of their neighborhood, and the interests of the church...", of which Mr. Logan was a faithful member. There was no evidence in the case to indicate that Mr. Logan either provoked Mrs. Logan's outbursts, or that the outbursts were logically based, or that he otherwise acted in any fashion except to verbally defend himself. The lower court, through the county circuit judge, decreed that Mrs. Logan was entitled to alimony in an annuity amount of $500. Archibald Logan appealed that decision to the Court of Appeals, saying that she is entitled to nothing, given their written pre-nuptial agreement, and that, even absent that agreement, she would not be entitled to monetary relief. Mrs. Logan, at the same time, assigned cross-errors and said that she was entitled to an even larger amount than that decreed by the circuit judge. Based on the above narrative, do you believe that Mrs.Logan was entitled to collect monetary relief from her husband, given the pre-nuptial agreement, and if so, why? I will post the opinion of the Court of Appeals tomorrow. -B =====================================================================