Chris, Thank you so much for replying and for explaining the situation so clearly. Now I understand about this 'protection'. Kind regards Angela On 2 Mar 2012, at 1:43 pm, Chris Pitt Lewis wrote: > In message <[email protected]>, > ag.hamilton <[email protected]> writes >> I have a newspaper report (the Hull Packet) from 1861 about an >> Application under the Matrimonial Causes and Divorce Act. >> >> The applicant's husband, a blacksmith, had deserted her a year before, >> apparently with no reasonable cause, and she had no idea of his >> whereabouts. Since then she had supported herself and her children as >> a beerhouse keeper and 'had become possessed of money and other >> property by her own earnings and industry'. She was obviously doing >> quite well as she was able to go to court and was represented by a >> solicitor. >> >> At the court hearing she was granted 'protection'. >> >> Does anyone know what does this 'protection' means? I've wondered if >> it is to protect her assets from her husband should he suddenly >> reappear. Protection from physical violence or to provide what we >> would call maintenance both seem less likely. >> >> Any ideas would be welcome. >> >> Thanks >> >> Angela >> >> > It is about protecting her earnings and assets acquired by her since her > husband left from claims by him. > > Until the passing of the Married Women's Property Acts in 1870 and 1882, > a married woman had no property of her own. A husband and wife were > regarded as one person at law, and that person, in practice, was of > course the husband. Not only the wife's capital and possessions, but > also her income, belonged to her husband. This was true even if they > were not living together. There were some notorious cases, shocking even > to contemporaries, where a husband who had deserted his wife, leaving > her to support herself by her earnings, was then able to claim those > earnings when she did so successfully. > > The main purpose of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 was to institute a > limited right to obtain a civil divorce, or alternatively an order for > judicial separation. But s.21 allowed a deserted wife to apply to a > magistrate for an order protecting her earnings and property, acquired > since the desertion, from claims by the husband and his creditors - they > were to belong to her as if she were not married. > -- > Chris Pitt Lewis > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hello All The SoG online data bases at MySog include an index of PCC wills for 1750 to 1800. This index was created by the SoG.   It would be interesting to know how the coverage in this index compares with the online searching of wills available at The National Archives Documents Online website. The TNA website is very useful for both the features for searching and online ordering of wills. However, possibly the SoG index offers improved coverage of wills that may be missed in The National Archives Documents Online?   For example, the SoG PCC will index has a reference for William Whistler, Middlesex, 1760. This entry does not show up at TNA Documents Online.   Does anyone have any comments on the completeness of the coverage of PCC wills offered by the TNA online searching? Many thanks Diana Whistler

> From: diana whistler > Sent: 02 March 2012 21:45 > > Hello All > The SoG online data bases at MySog include an index of PCC wills > for 1750 to 1800. This index was created by the SoG. > > It would be interesting to know how the coverage in > this index compares with the online searching of wills > available at The National Archives Documents Online website. As I understand it the SoG index was compiled from manuscript calendars in series PROB 13, initially onto index cards and then to typescript which was digitised, while the Documents Online digital index has been compiled directly from the registers of copy wills in series PROB 11. There will inevitably be a small number of omissions in both indexes, as well as transcription errors, and it is possible (though I imagine very rare) that a will was omitted from the registers. Best wishes Andrew -- Andrew Millard - [email protected] Bodimeade genealogy:   http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.r.millard/genealogy/Bodimeade/ My family history:     http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.r.millard/genealogy/ GenUKI Middx + London: http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/genuki/MDX/ + ../LND/