Maine Divorce Records

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County All Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York

Year All 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

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Of the 28,396 records in this collection, those dated prior to 1892 were indexed by the Maine State Archives, which notes that "[a]ll Maine counties are listed with the exception of Lincoln County, who still has their records at the Court House in Wiscasset. Also not indexed are divorce cases heard in the Courts of Common Pleas or the early District Courts."

Since 1892 Maine county clerks have been required to return to the State abstracted records of all divorces and annulments granted by the courts convened in their counties. The returns generally give the names of the parties involved, the dates of marriage and divorce, and the grounds for divorce. (Note that marriage dates in these records are often incorrect.) The post-1891 records in this database are taken from these returns, available at Digital Maine (see index below). Certified copies of these later records may be obtained from the Maine Office of Vital Records.

Further details on divorce proceedings—which may include place of marriage, places of residence, names and ages of children, and circumstances leading to the divorce—may be found in the original court records, in many cases available at the State Archives and in the Maine State Archives Collection at FamilySearch.

Sources: Maine Divorce Index 1800-1891, formerly provided online by the Maine State Archives; and Maine Divorce Index, 1892-1963, Digital Maine