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Robert Dale Owen and Mary Jane Robinson - Marriage Protest - 1832
Statement issued by American radical Robert Dale Owen on his 1832 wedding to Mary Jane Robinson.

Husband and Wife - English Law
The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica included a surprisingly feminist entry on the history of women. This entry describes then-current understanding of laws relating to women, including divorce and marriage law, as it stood in 1910. This page emphasizes changes in British law in the 19th century.

Marriage Protest: Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, 1855
A copy of the agreement signed by Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell prior to their May 1, 1855 marriage. The Rev. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who performed the marriage, not only read the statement at the ceremony, but also distributed it to other ministers as a model that he urged other couples to follow.

Marriage Protest: Robert Dale Owen - 1832
A copy of the 1832 statement issued by Robert Dale Owen to protest the state of law by which women lost property and other legal rights upon marriage.

Married Women's Property Act, New York State, 1848
Passage of this act protecting some property rights of married women was a landmark in women's history. An entry in the Encyclopedia of Women's History on this site.

Queen Victoria - Marriage - by Lytton Strachey
From the 1921 biography of Queen Victoria, an account of her marriage. The marriage of Victoria and Albert reflected and shaped 19th century western attitudes towards marriage.

Queen Victoria's Wedding
An account of Queen Victoria's wedding, with an illustration.

"The Best or None!" 19th Century Spinsterhood
Zsuzsa Berend, in a Summer 2000 article in the Journal of Social History, looks at New England women in the 19th century who chose not to marry, instead choosing careers and active lives in social reform movements. Article mentions (and, in most cases, quotes) Catharine Sedgwick, Clara Barton, Susan B. Anthony, Alice James, Frances Willard, Emily Howard, Lucy Stone and other "useful women."

Chronology of Federal Legislation on Polygamy
Perry L. Porter presents a detailed timeline showing first the establishment and later the prohibition of plural marriage among the Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church).

Divorce: An American Tradition
Summary of 1991 book by Glenda Riley, documenting laws and practice related to divorce from colonial America to today.

Ja Norcom, Letter to Mary Matilda Norcom (1846)
1846 letter to a daughter on the subject of marriage. Study questions focus on gender roles in the antebellum South.

Joshua and Sally Wilson Letters to George Wilson (1823)
Gender roles in the antebellum South, expressed through these letters to a son regarding his proposed marriage. Includes study questions focusing on social roles.

Marriage in 19th Century Britain
Well linked hypertext discussion of the customs of marriage in 19th century Britain.

Weddings on Contested Grounds
Slave marriage in the antebellum South: an exploration of the marriage rituals developed in tslave culture, the attitudes of the white masters and the attitude of the legal system. (In short, most legal systems didn't recognize that "property" could legally marry.)

Women in America: Courtship and Marriage
Travelers to America in 1820-1842 describe practices of marriage and courtship, providing insight into the status and roles of women.