Pennsylvania Divorce Records

Since 1804 Divorce Records have been kept in the Prothonotary's Office in the county where the divorce was granted.  In addition, local newspapers frequently published notices of divorce actions.

From 1682 to 1773, divorce could be granted by the Legislature or the Governor subject to royal veto by Royal Council.

In 1773, British Parliament forbade royal governors in America to grant divorces and the Legislature was the governing body to which pleas for divorce were submitted. From 1785 through 1804, either the Supreme Court or the Legislature could act on divorce matters. 

From 1804 through 1847, the Legislature and the Courts of Common Pleas handled divorces. 

In 1847, the Court of Common Pleas alone began to govern divorce action.  Since 1804, these records have been kept in the Prothonotary's Office in the county where the divorce was granted.

Divorces were rare in colonial Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War and early statehood.

Some Pennsylvania divorces granted by the Legislative Assembly and the Supreme Court are in the Statutes At Large of Pennsylvania;

Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, No. 4, December 1898; and Record Group 33, Division of Archives and Manuscripts, Bureau of Archives and History, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

This Record Group contains Supreme Court Divorce Papers, Eastern District, 1786-1815, arranged alphabetically; Supreme Court General Motions, 1750-1837, and Divorce Docket, 1800-1805, arranged by date.