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While having an affair with your wife’s best friend might earn you a spot on The Jerry Springer Show, it likely wouldn’t make global headlines. In the 19th century, however, divorce was rare, and infidelity could destroy a person’s reputation. During this time, marriage scandals often unfolded in courtrooms and sent shockwaves through society.
10. The Beardsley Divorce Scandal
In November of 1860, attorney Richard Busteed presented his client’s divorce case before the Brooklyn Supreme Court. Alfred Beardsley accused his wife, Mary Elizabeth, of taking a ferry to Manhattan in 1854, where she met an Irish physician, Francis Mahan, at a saloon. As she departed, she dropped a rosebud on the floor, seemingly inviting the doctor to follow her.
When he met Mary at P.T. Barnum’s Museum in New York, she introduced herself as Emma Evaline Seymour, an heiress from Nova Scotia. As she concealed her true identity, the two of them fell in love.
In 1855, Mary committed bigamy by marrying the doctor under her assumed name. He didn’t learn that she was already married to another man until months into their union. Her scandalous behavior led her husband’s lawyer to dub her as “the harlot of the 19th century.”
9. George and Laura Hadder
Thanks to numerous genealogy websites, it’s easier than ever to uncover what our ancestors were up to in the past. Sometimes, we stumble upon surprising secrets, just like Tricia Power did when she delved into her family history.
While researching documents on Ancestry.co.uk, Tricia Power found out that her great-great-grandmother, Laura Hadder, had been unfaithful to her husband, George, with one of his colleagues. The affair only came to light when their teenage daughter, Winifred, caught the two cheaters together in their family home.
When the divorce case became public in 1898, it made headlines, with the couple’s love letters being published in the tabloids. George won the case and successfully divorced his wife, who went on to marry her lover. Winifred stayed with her father, unable to forgive her mother for the affair.
8. Ellen Miller-Mundy and The Earl of Shrewsbury
Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, the 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, was born in Eton Place, London, and had great prospects ahead of him. However, in April 1880, he shocked society by eloping to Paris with an older, married woman.
Ellen Miller-Mundy had been married to Alfred Edward Miller-Mundy for seven years before falling in love with the 20-year-old earl. Determined to be together, they sought a way to escape. Their opportunity arrived when Ellen’s brothers drew lots to decide who would kill off their elder brother if he refused to sign over inheritances. Wanted by the law, the pair fled abroad, taking the earl and her sister with them.
After being divorced by Alfred, Ellen married the Earl of Shrewsbury two years later. Despite the media frenzy surrounding their scandal, she and her new husband were ostracized by society.
7. Henry and Isabella Robinson
Henry and Isabella Robinson had been married in 1844 and appeared to have a blissful life together. However, in 1857, when Isabella fell ill, she spoke deliriously, revealing a secret that prompted Henry to read her private diary. There, he uncovered an affair between Isabella and Dr. Edward Lane, a respected family friend and gentleman whose circle included Charles Darwin.
The diary, which spanned several volumes covering the years 1850–55, became widely known when it was read aloud in court. Transcribed by the newspapers, it thrust the Robinson divorce case into the public eye.
Though the diary didn’t provide explicit confirmation of any sexual acts, the case was dismissed due to the absence of conclusive evidence of adultery. Henry and Isabella’s marriage officially ended in 1864 when she was discovered having an affair with her children’s former tutor. While Isabella’s original diary no longer survives, her story of disgrace was recounted in a 2012 book by author Kate Summerscale.
6. The Beecher-Tilton Scandal
Born in Connecticut in 1813, clergyman Henry Ward Beecher emerged as a prominent figure in the women’s suffrage movement. However, in the 1870s, he became embroiled in a national scandal after Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of his friend and assistant Theodore Tilton, admitted to having an affair with him.
When Theodore confided in writer and activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton about his wife’s infidelity, the gossip eventually reached women’s rights leader Victoria Woodhull. As Henry had previously discredited Victoria’s advocacy for free love, she decided to reveal his scandalous story in her magazine in November 1872. Theodore filed adultery charges against Henry in 1874, which led to numerous hearings and a six-month trial.
Although Theodore had a written confession from Elizabeth, she insisted on standing by Henry in denying the charges. However, the law prohibited women from testifying against their husbands. The jury failed to reach a verdict, and it was never conclusively determined whether the two had actually engaged in sexual relations.
5. The Yelverton Case
In 1852, William Charles Yelverton, an Irish Protestant, met and fell in love with Theresa Longworth, an English Catholic. When they decided to marry, Theresa insisted on a public Catholic wedding. However, Charles knew that a Catholic wedding in Ireland would be considered invalid under the law due to his Protestant faith.
Instead, Charles persuaded her to marry in secret, as he had previously promised his family that he would not wed. In 1857, the pair were “married” by a Catholic priest, but legally, Theresa was viewed as nothing more than his mistress.
A year later, Charles became involved with another woman, Emily Forbes, and insisted that Theresa move to New Zealand so he could be with Emily. Refusing to give up her claim as his wife, Theresa took the case to court while Charles married Emily.
In 1864, the case was brought before the House of Lords, where Charles was found innocent of bigamy because his first marriage was deemed invalid. However, the case resulted in a change in the law regarding mixed-religion marriages in Ireland under the Marriage Causes and Marriage Law Amendment Act of 1870.
4. Lady Harriet Mordaunt And Sir Charles
In December 1866, 18-year-old Harriet Moncreiffe married Sir Charles Mordaunt, and the newlyweds soon settled into their home at Walton Hall in Warwickshire, England. When not working, Sir Charles dedicated his time to various sporting pursuits.
Although she usually joined him, Lady Harriet encouraged her husband to embark on his annual fishing trip alone in 1868. Upon his return, Sir Charles learned from a maid that his wife had been visited by Lord Lowry Cole, and they had spent considerable time alone together.
When Lady Harriet gave birth to a daughter who was feared to be blind by doctors, she believed the cause was a sexually transmitted disease and admitted to having affairs with several men, including the Prince of Wales, aside from Lord Cole.
In 1869, Sir Charles filed for divorce. Lady Harriet’s family, worried about losing the wealth from the marriage, attempted to derail the proceedings by labeling her as insane. Lord Cole declared himself the father of the child, and Sir Charles was granted the divorce. Although it was initially thought Lady Harriet had feigned insanity, she ultimately spent the remainder of her life in a mental asylum.
3. William And Kitty O’Shea
Born in Essex, England, in 1845, Katharine Wood was the granddaughter of a former Lord Mayor of London. Thanks to her brother’s position in the British army, their home often hosted soldiers. It was through this connection that Katharine met Captain William O’Shea.
The couple married in 1867 and had three children. However, financial difficulties caused them to drift apart. William began spending more time away from home, and rumors of his infidelity began circulating, including one that involved Katharine’s sister.
William later turned to politics, where he ran for a parliamentary seat. Needing his wife to maintain appearances, Katharine found herself falling in love with political leader Charles Stewart Parnell during the campaign. William was aware of their relationship and even challenged Parnell to a duel, despite initially encouraging their bond for his own political benefit.
Katharine eventually married Parnell, but the affair shattered his political career. His party turned against him, and his critics began referring to Katharine as “Kitty,” a derogatory term for “prostitute,” further tarnishing his reputation. He passed away just four months after their wedding.
2. Codrington v. Codrington
In April 1849, Royal Navy officer Henry Codrington married Helen Jane Webb, and they enjoyed a peaceful life together. However, when Henry was called to serve in the Crimean War in 1854, Helen was left alone at home. The couple made arrangements for her to have a female companion during his absence.
That companion was Miss Emily Faithfull, a feminist campaigner from Surrey. When Henry returned home, he noticed that the dynamics between him and his wife had changed. Emily continued to live with them, despite no longer being needed, and Helen began occasionally sharing a bed with her, claiming that Emily suffered from asthma attacks.
By the spring of 1857, Helen refused to share a bed with Henry and instead slept with Emily. This prompted Henry to dismiss Emily from the household. In 1863, Henry filed for divorce, accusing his wife of multiple affairs. During the investigation, Helen claimed that Henry had tried to force himself on Emily during a night they all shared a bed. The court dismissed the allegations and granted Henry his divorce.
1. Lord Campbell And Gertrude
In 1881, Lord Colin Campbell crossed paths with Gertrude Blood during a holiday in Scotland. Just three days later, he proposed marriage to her. However, their whirlwind romance took a tragic turn when Lord Colin passed on syphilis to his new bride.
Before their marriage, Lord Colin had warned Gertrude that they would need to sleep in separate rooms because he had an infection, though he didn’t provide specifics. Eventually, the couple did consummate their marriage after Lord Colin showed her a supposed letter from a doctor claiming that some marital intimacy would benefit him.
Gertrude filed a lawsuit and later sought a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. In his defense, Lord Colin accused her of infidelity with multiple men. The press was divided in their loyalties. Though both divorce petitions were denied by the judge, Gertrude was freed from her marriage when Lord Colin succumbed to the infection in 1895.
