Genealogy Chat

The same newspaper records the following case as occurring in November 1837: A strange and unwonted exhibition took place in Walsall market on Tuesday last. A man named George HITCHINSON brought his wife, Elizabeth HITCHINSON from Burntwood, for sale, a distance of eight or nine miles. They came into the market between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning, the woman being led by a halter, which was fastened, round her neck and the middle of her body. In a few minutes after their arrival she was sold to a man of the name of Thomas SNAPE a nailer, also from Burntwood. There were not many people in the market at the time. The purchase price was two shillings and sixpence, and all the parties seemed satisfied with the bargain. The husband was glad to get rid of his frail rib, who, it seems, had been living with SNAPE three years, at any time erroneously imagining that because he had brought her through a turnpike gate in a halter, and publicly sold her in the market before witnesses, that he is thereby freed from all responsibility and liability with regard to her future maintenance and support.' This was after registration came into being so how was it recorded? Clive

Wow, that's absolutely fascinating. I really need to spend some time looking through the old papers at the records office to see if I can find any gems *grins* Not sure how it would be recorded, if at all, depends if he divorced her after 'selling' her I guess.. and if the new guy then married her. You could look for a marriage cert for them?

This is a famous case and was the basis of Thomas Hardy's book the Mayor of Casterbridge.

I was just thinking that same thing about how similar it was to the Mayor of Casterbridge. When we went to South Africa about six years ago, we went to a place - can't quite remember what it was exactly, a sort of mock Zulu village where they told you about customs and there was singing etc - a young man offered my dad 150 cows for my sister. (Dad later jokingly said if it had been 160, he'd have considered it.)

Hmmmm. So - he went to his errant wife's new home, put a halter round her neck and her waist and dragged her seven or eight miles to the market... ...what paper was this again, Ye Olde Sunday Sporte??? OC

very interesting, i live in Walsall :)

The quoted sale was one of the last reports I found but there are quite a lot of similar reports in the 18th century. Divorce was both difficult and expensive. Staffordshire in particular seems to have held very strongly to the belief that a public auction (complete with halter) made it all legal. The reports nearly always say that the buyer was known to the wife and on one occasion buyer and wife had already been living together for three years! Typical journalists, article full of tut, tuts, but then give details. I expect the stories helped sell newspapers! Clive

In Thomas Hardy's book the man becomes Mayor of Casterbridge and his ex-wife and daughter turn up in the town twenty years later. Hardy freely acknowledged that his novel was based on this true incident.

Here is an interesting aticle on the subject. http://tinyurl.com/2xwhkb Jennifer

Hi All By coincidence I had a book out of the Library yesterday called A Thousand Events in the Black Country by Harold Parsons (no ISBN but edited by The Balckcountryman for Dudley Teachers Centre) It covers 1800 to 1901 with a page for each and listing events from publications. On each page it lists a towns and articles. In 1859 for Dudley is the following : 'Disgraceful exhibition of selling a wife took place in August. Hundreds of people congregated in Hall street. The first bid was 1/2d, and ultimately it reached 6d, at which price the woman was sold. Her husband in his ignorance, thinks this being repeated 3 times, she acyually has no claim upon him .....' (taken from Sedgley Researches (Hackwood) ) Cheers Clare

Just looked at Censi In 1841 Thomas Snape, 28, Nailer, Burntwood, is living with Elizabeth Hitchinson and 5 children, youngest aged 3 In 1851 Thomas is listed as unmarried but with 2 of the children, Richard and Hannah 'Hitchens' - occ changed to Ag Lab In 1861 Thomas is lodging with Alfred Hitchinson, aged 32, and family Death for Elizabeth Hitchinson, Lichfield 1842 Possible death for Thomas Snape, Lichfield 1877 Cheers Clare

Oh, I am not doubting that such things happened, but I am sure it was more in the spirit of market-day high jinx than some wretched wife being dragged screaming and kicking and sold off against her will. Divorce WAS difficult and expensive at the time. However, the church allowed remarriage under certain circumstances - desertion for seven years, or where the spouse had been sentenced to transportation. I have one such case in my family and I assume that the civil authorities also recognised such marriages, as the certificate gives the wife's condition as 'the wife of Joe Bloggs, transported across the seas for life'. The couple were married by licence, in church. OC