Jan. 2, 1907
Los Angeles
Some diligent soul at The Times dug through the number of marriage licenses and divorces and put together a small story that traced the city’s growth through the increase in couples that joined or separated. This is the kind of information you could never find if you were looking for it; only through happenstance can you discover this data.
So here we go:
|
Year |
Marriages |
Divorces |
|
1906 |
4,714 |
719, 13 annulments |
|
1905 |
3,841 |
567 |
|
1904 |
3,283 |
557, 10 annulments |
|
1903 |
3,005 |
473, 7 annulments |
|
1902 |
2,351 |
386 |
|
1901 |
1,917 |
|
|
1900 |
1,503 |
|
|
1899 |
1,505? |
|
|
1898 |
1,381? |
|
|
1897 |
1,432 |
|
|
1896 |
1,405 |
|
|
1895 |
illegible |
|
|
1894 |
1,251 |
|
|
1893 |
1,201 |
|
|
1892 |
1,023 |
|
|
1891 |
|
|
|
1890 |
1,182 |
|
|
1889 |
576 |
|
Apparently Los Angeles did not have a thriving reputation as an early day Reno. Divorces were only granted to those who had lived here for a year. The Times writer notes a difference between a final decree and an interlocutory decree: Those with a final decree could remarry while those with an interlocutory decree had to wait a year. For 1906, the figures were 719 interlocutory decrees and 542 final decrees.
The Times also notes that given the Episcopal Church’s tight restrictions on performing marriages of divorcees, the number of ceremonies by justices of the peace has increased markedly.
As regular blog readers will recall, getting a divorce in 1907 could be quite a challenge.
Lmharnisch.com
Lmharnisch.blogspot.com
e-mail: lmharnisch (AT) gmail.com
ladailymirror.com 