Report of the Forrest Divorce Case - William & Mary Law School

<h2><center>Report of the Forrest Divorce Case</center></h2>

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<center>Report of the Forrest Divorce Case. New York: Robert M. De Witt Publishers, 1852.</center>

This volume contains several famous mid-19th century cases involving women. Shown here is a report of the Forrest Divorce Case, which took place in the winter of 1851-2. Catherine Norton Sinclair Forrest sued her husband Edwin Forrest for divorce. The trial lasted six weeks, and was a source of dramatic entertainment, as Edwin Forrest was a famous actor and both and accused each other of infidelity. Catherine won the case and was awarded $3,000 per year in alimony, but Edwin refused to pay. Following sixteen years of appeals, he was ordered to pay $68,000 and $4,000 per year thereafter. Upon his death in 1872, Catherine received $100,000 from his estate.

<center>You can <a href="https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/context/womenhistorylaw/article/1017/type/native/viewcontent">download this image</a>, or you can view the book's <a href="https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/1tc7lat/alma991023983659703196">record in the library catalog</a>.</center>