July 18, 2025
While not as commonly sought as other vital records, divorce records can help genealogists fill in the blanks about an ancestor’s life. In addition to information about the divorce itself, divorce records usually include the date and place of the divorcing couple’s marriage and the names and ages of any minor children they share.
Divorce records are commonly found at the county level and are considered public records in most areas. However, some sections of a divorce record may be sealed due to sensitive information. Because they are kept at the county level, researchers need to know where the divorce occurred and have at least an approximate date.
Divorces were often considered shameful in earlier periods, so determining if a divorce occurred is sometimes difficult. Starting in 1880, the U.S. censuses include marital status. A “D” in the column for Marital Status indicates that someone was divorced. Women were often embarrassed to admit they were divorced, so many divorced women lied about their marital status. Finding a couple living in separate households may be a clue that they were divorced, even if neither has “D” by their name.
If you suspect an ancestor was divorced, a search of the local newspaper may help confirm your suspicion. In earlier eras, newspapers often published articles listing couples who had been recently divorced. These articles confirm a place and date to search for further records.
Family Search, Ancestry and My Heritage all have some divorce records. Family Search has the largest collection of divorce records which can be found through a place search for the county of interest.
For many counties, no divorce records have been digitized. You will need to contact the county clerk for assistance in obtaining these records. Some counties will search their records for you. Others may require you to visit in person or to hire someone to search for you.
In some states, earlier divorce records have been transferred to the state archives. Most state archives are willing to do lookups, but some may require an in-person visit.
Divorces are sometimes overlooked genealogical records, but they can give you insight into an ancestor’s life. In addition, they can provide sometimes hard-to-find information about where and when a couple was married, who their children were, and why the marriage ended.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society