It appears that I was in error in suggesting that colonial VA courts had the authority to grant divorces from bed and board (a mensa et thoro). Sorry 'bout that. The following would appear to adequately summarize the true state of the matter in early VA. So, unless we hear differently from Mr. Gill or another of you who has familiarity with the matter, we should presume that the courts did NOT have the power to recognize such divorces "from bed and board." Paul "England, the source of legal tradition in the colonies, was essentially a divorce-free society which didn't have a judicial process for divorce until 1857. The colonies, especially in the south, adhered to that tradition. Prior to the Revolution and for many years thereafter, the southern colonies had no process for granting a divorce. The only means of obtaining one was to induce the legislature to pass a private bill granting a divorce, something that rarely occurred. A few petitions were submitted to legislatures, but colonial assemblies limited their consideration to "divorces from bed and board" (a mensa et thoro) which did not permit remarriage. The only other practical options available to an unhappy couple were adultery or desertion.