They were married at Old Swedes Church in Wilmington in 1754. Ann is thought to have been from Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Ann was abandoned by Curtis in 1757, who departed for Europe after Peter's birth. Eventually believing him dead, she remarried to Archibald McNeal in 1763 and began another family. But Curtis did return and later petitioned the Pennsylvania Assembly for a divorce, which was granted by special act in 1769.
Divorces, especially to permit a remarriage, were nearly impossible in Colonial Pennsylvania, so this may have been a first. Certainly it caught the attention of authorities in England, who subsequently forbade such actions by the Assembly.
They were married at Old Swedes Church in Wilmington in 1754. Ann is thought to have been from Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Ann was abandoned by Curtis in 1757, who departed for Europe after Peter's birth. Eventually believing him dead, she remarried to Archibald McNeal in 1763 and began another family. But Curtis did return and later petitioned the Pennsylvania Assembly for a divorce, which was granted by special act in 1769.
Divorces, especially to permit a remarriage, were nearly impossible in Colonial Pennsylvania, so this may have been a first. Certainly it caught the attention of authorities in England, who subsequently forbade such actions by the Assembly.
Family Members
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