Looking for divorce record for William J. Campbell and Lillie M. Smith, divorced 1897/1898 Michigan

Question

Is there anyone that may be able to check the Michigan Divorce Record database to see if there is information for this divorce? I, unfortunately, do not have access to this database in Ancestry at the moment.

 

Husband's Name: William J. Campbell

Wife's Name: Lillie (or maybe Lillian) M. Smith

Married: 1896, likely in October or earlier

Divorced: Likely in 1897 or 1898 (1900 Census notes that they were only married a year.)

 

Any information on this divorce that is noted would be grand - especially potential reasons for the divorce, etc.

 

I only was just able to confirm that my 2xgreat grandmother (Lillie M. Smith) was indeed married before marrying my 2xgreat grandfather and it seems the child from her first marriage survived, as I now have 3 Shared Ancestor Hints on Ancestry to this child from the first marriage.

 

Any information would be helpful regarding the divorce/reasons!

Answer 1

I didn’t see a divorce record. You might find something in a local newspaper. It was the first marriage for each.

Lillie Smith and William Campbell were married 21 October 1896 in Lapeer, Lapeer, Michigan. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 57; Film Description: 1896 Hillsdale - 1896 Montmorency. Record number 1446.

 

It looks like William Campbell remarried in 1903, his second marriage. 

Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3DZ-QNS : 10 March 2018), Wm Campbell and Della Ferguson Swain, 18 Mar 1903; citing Attica, Lapeer, Michigan, v 3 p 27 rn 3111, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,342,664.

Comments

Thanks very much for checking!

I'll have to see about digging around for some potential mention of it in a newspaper then. It seemed like divorce would be fairly rare in the 1890s.