Tag: Divorce

Clara Wetherald2 Comments

The Demise of John Wetherald

freemethodistfeminist

This dissertation topic has taught me to believe that you can find that “needle in the haystack” or in the case of Clara Wetherald and Ida Gage’s lives “multiple needles in the haystack.” Once again, I have to thank the wonderful people who have helped me find so many of these tidbits that connect the dots. An 1895 New York Times article notes that the Reverend Clara Buell caused quite a sensation when she divorced her husband, John Wetherald, in 1891 and married Legrand Buell in 1892. Supposedly her main motivation for wanting to marry Legrand was to convert him … Continue reading The Demise of John Wetherald

Clara Wetherald, Free Methodism, Ida GageLeave a comment

A Historical Overview on Divorce & What the Free Methodist Church Believes

freemethodistfeminist

Since I’ve discovered that both Ida Gage and Clara Wetherald were divorced, I’ve been trying to better understand the Free Methodist Church’s position on divorce in the early twentieth century. Today I often hear people refer to the “good old days” when divorce was never an option. What both these women’s stories illustrate is that divorce is not something recent. It’s been a social problem for quite sometime. However, before the twentieth century women had few legal rights and could be trapped in abusive marriages without options. While, I’m not promoting divorce; I also don’t want to endorse people staying … Continue reading A Historical Overview on Divorce & What the Free Methodist Church Believes