Dear Rooters, This statement was also found in the Scott County records in 1852. 9/29/1853 Scott County, Virginia Chancery Court Order Book 1 p. 288 Angilina Bays divorced Joel Bays per Scott Co. court recs. She stated he had abandoned her for more than 5 years. The court ordered a divorce and gave the complainant the right to remarry but not the defendant who was Joel. The defendant was further ordered to pay the complainant her cost in the prosecution of this suit. Angelina remarried almost immediately but the next record that I found for a marriage for Joel was in Lee County twenty years later. At that time he stated that he was a widower. So it does not appear that the court order had any "teeth" since Joel did marry again and possibly more than one time. Anne Bays (Richmond, Virginia)