Julia (Bush) Comstock vs. Lyndon Comstock  (Divorce proceeding)

Filed January 1825  Clark County Kentucky Circuit Court    bundle 296

Submitted by Lyndon Comstock,

Introductory notes by Lyndon Comstock:

I�ve changed the page order of the documents in this file as I received them to put them into chronological order.

Comments by me, including the page titles, are in brackets and/or italics.  I have tried to retain the spelling and punctuation of the handwritten original, which is often only barely legible.  If you have any comments, feel free to contact me at lyndoncoms@aol.com

Divorce is said to have been rare in early 19th century America.]

Cover page  The following cover notes were found on the final page of the Julia Comstock complaint.

Comstock vs Comstock

Bill for Divorce

filed Jany 26th 1825/

1825: Mar. cont/

ord. pub rct�d [?] & cont at June 1825

Complaint by Julia (Bush) Comstock

To the honorable the Judge of the Clarke Circuit Court sitting in Chancery  From Oratrix [a woman complainant in an equity proceeding] Julia Comstock, late Julia Bush, respectfully represents that on the [blanks in the original�their marriage took place in December 1806] __ day of __ 180_ she was lawfully married to Lyndon Comstock, who she prays may be made defendt to this bill   That, some time thereafter, he removed to the Town of Lexington where they continued to reside untill the autumn of the year 1813, when her said husband left her with the intention of abandonment, & has never since returned, but for what cause your oratrix is [utterly?] ignorant, as she is conscious of having faithfully discharged all and singular the duties & obligations on her part, incident to the matrimonial union between them � Indeed she would infer from his long absence & never having received a letter from him since his departure from this country that he is not now living (& such indeed would be the legal presumption) but for the circumstance, that she has been informed, that he was seen in the city of New Orleans in the State of Louisiana, some 3 or 4 years since. [This is, no doubt, a reference to the Oliver Hart deposition in the Jackson vs Holladay case in which he states that he say Lyndon Comstock in New Orleans, who was in good health and said that he had been in South America.]

She further states that at the time of his abandonment aforesd & leaving this Commonwealth, the said Lyndon labored under considerable pecuniary embarrassments, & left your Oratrix in a very destitute condition [illegible word] of property, in so much that she has been compelled to return to the County of Clarke, were they were married, and has subsisted in a great measure upon the bounty of her friends & relatives & her own personal industry.  She prays proper process against the Deft that he may be compelled to answer on oath all & singular the allegations of this bill and that on a final hearing the marriage between them may be dissolved together with all such other & further relief as the nature of the case may require; & she will pray &c

Taul, Counsel for Complt

Subpoena

A subpoena dated January 26, 1825 for Lyndon Comstock to appear in March was issued.  A note by a deputy (Sympson?) states that �The within named Defendant is no inhabitant of my county.�

Notices

I certify that the annexed order of the Clarke Circuit Court (Julia Comstock vs Lydon [sic] Comstock) was inserted two months, by successive weekly insertions, in the American Sentinel, a newspaper printed in Georgetown K. and in which advertisements of this nature, are, by special act of Assembly authorized to be inserted.  Commencing April 27 1825 and ending June 27 1825

Given under my hand as Editor of said paper this 27th of June 1825 [signed] N. L. Finnell

Commonwealth of Kentucky

Scott County Sct.

This day personally appeared before me, Job Stevenson one of the Acting Justices of the Peace for the County aforesaid and N L Finnell, and made oath that the annexed Notice signed �Julia Comstock� and addressed to �Mr Lyndon Comstock� was inserted in four successive weekly numbers of the American Sentinel, a newspaper in which Advertisements of this nature, are, by special act of Assembly authorized to be inserted commencing on the 5th of August 1825 � and ending on the 2nd of Sept. 1825 �

Given under my hand this 2nd Sept. 1825 [signed] Job Stevenson

Printer�s fee for publication.  A notice is included, signed by N.L Finnell and dated 7th July 1825, stating that the fee for publishing the Comstock vs Comstock notice (for 8 weeks) was $4.00.  A separate notice, dated Sept 1, 1825 states that the cost for inserting a notice to take depositions addressed to Lyndon Comstock (for four weeks) was $2.00.

[A note about the American Sentinel from a member of the Finnell family:            

In our search for Family materials we some times come across interesting items. One I found a while ago in the Historical Society of Wisconsin Library. The

Library contains one issue of the Newspaper American Sentinel published in Georgetown, KY on Friday, 11 April 1828 (No 2 Vol VI whole number 262) The publisher was N. L. FINNELL (Nimrod L. FINNELL) son of John Finnell and Cathy Sury. Ninrod b. 1799, VA; d.8 Dec 1850; m. 17 Aug 1815 to Eliza Reilly in Clark Co, KY.  They had one son: John W. FINNELL.

Nimrod L. Finnell was also involved in the publication of the Lexington Observer in

Lexington, KY and the Licking Valley Register one of the first major newspapers in Northern Kentucky.

Depositions of Jeremiah Bush and Ambrose Bush Jr.

The cover page of the deposition was the first page of the entire group of documents and bore the text: Comstock vs Comstock  Depositions / Filed 10th Sept 1825/ Sept Decree 1825  296

Text of depositions:

Clarke County Sct

This Depositions of sundry Witnesses taken at Dudley�s Inn, in Winchester, in Saturday the 10th day of September 1825, to be read as evidence in Chancery for a divorce, now pending, in the Clarke Circuit Court, where Julia Comstock is Complt and Lyndon Comstock is Defendant.

Jeremiah Bush being of lawful age and first duly sworn deposeth saith that the Complainant in this Suit is his sister that the Defendant then were lawfully married on the 9th day of December 1806 & lived together as man & wife until about the year 1813 when the sd Deft abandoned his wife & left the country, for what cause the deponent does not know, unless it was the Defts pecuniary embarrassments.  That for several years the Complt has resided in the house, or on the plantation of this Deponent in Clarke County, & the said Defendant has not returned to this County or to the Commonwealth in the knowledge of the Deponent � nor has this Deponent heard from said Defendant since the abandonment as aforesd except from a single individual, who says, that he saw him in the City of New Orleans several years past [no doubt, this is a reference to the same Oliver Hart deposition].

That the Complt has been entirely dependent upon her own industry & the charity of her friends for her support ever since her husband left her as aforesd �

And further this Depn saith not [signed] Jeremiah Bush

Ambrose Bush of lawful age & duly sworn deposeth & saith, that the Complt in this suit is his sister, that her & the Defendant were lawfully married in the year 1806 & lived together as man & wife until some time in the year 1813 when the said Defendant abandoned his wife & left the Country but for what cause the Deponent does not know unless it was his pecuniary embarrassments.

The Complt has resided for several years in the house & on the plantation of her brother Jeremiah Bush & said Deft has not returned to this Commonwealth in the knowledge of this Deponent.

The Complt has been dependant upon her own industry & the charity of her friends & relatives for a support ever since her husband left her as aforesd.

And further this saith not [signed] A Bush

The foregoing Depositions of Jeremiah Bush & Ambrose Bush were taken sworn to & subscribed before the undersigned justice of the peace of sd County at the time & place stated in the Caption  [signed] Wm Hockaday   Justices fee $1.00 paid by Jeremiah Bush

Decree filed October 1, 1825

Comstock vs Comstock

This Suit this day came to be heard on the Bill,  [illegible word] and it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the order of publication herein awarded at the March term has been duly published in the �American Sentinel� a duly authorised newspaper, & the Deft having failed to answer the Complts bill, [an illegible clause is inserted at this point] the Case was heard on the Bill & Declarations, in due consideration whereof, it is decreed by the Court that the marriage contract between the Complt & Deft be dissolved; and the Complt be and she is hereby divorced from the said husband the Deft. on this [illegible word] & that the Defendant pay to the Complt her costs herein expended