Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 94, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1912 — DIVORCES IN THE STATE [ARTICLE]

DIVORCES IN THE STATE

Increased 3.2 Per Cent.—Marriages Only 29,962, a Decrease of 2.3 Per Cent. The year 1911 in Indiana saw divorces increase in number as compared with the preceding year, while the number of marriage licenses decreased, according to figures com-j piled from the reports of the cir-j cult court clerks of the state. The forthcoming report of the state statistician will show that the total number of licenses Issued during the year was 29,962, or a decrease from the preceding year of 2.3 per cent. The total number of divorces granted was 4,781, or an increase of 3.2 per 1 cent. The ratio dt, divorces to licenses issued also increased. In 1910 the divorces granted bore a ratio of 15 per cent to the number of licenses issued. In 1911 the ratio was 15.9 per cent. For the ten years preceding 1910 the ratio was from 13 to 14 per cent. The list of the counties with the licenses and throws some 1 light on the social condition of the various parts of the state. Lake! county, with 2,050 licenses, and 9* divorces; Laporte county, with 560! licenses and 51 divorces; Clarke county, with 1,821 licenses and 38 divorces, and Vanderburg county J with 1,173 licenses and 181 divorces are the chief gretna greens of the state, where many licenses are issued to persons coming from other

states. In a lesser way Dearborn county, with 207 licenses and 14 divorces; Jefferson bounty, with 220 licenses and 30 divorces; St. Joseph county, with 926 licenses and 170 divorces, and Vigo county, with 986 licenses and 182 divorces, are also gretna - greens, where eloping couples from nearby states are married.

The counties which pre largely farming communities show a low ratio of divorces to licenses Issued. Adams county, with a large German and Swiss population, had only 9 divorce cases with 184 licenses issued. Brown county, with about one-fourth the number of licenses as Adams county, had as many divorces. Laporte county presented about the same ratio as Adams. Switzerland county, with forty-six licenses issued, had nine divorces, and Union county, with thirty-eight licenses, also ~ had nine divorces. Warren county, with seventy-five licenses, had seventeen divorces. Reports from the ninety-two counties in the state, showing the number of licenses issued during the year and the divorces granted, are sum--marized in the .following table: Licenses Divorces Counties issued granted Adams ............... 184 9 Allen .... . 919 208 Bartholomew 247 26 Benton 117 iq Blackford ............ 185 42 Boone .......... ,t. ... 203 32 Brown 52 9 Carroll 144 22 Cass 130 14 Clark .....1821 38 Clay .’ 317 go Clinton 267 49 Crawford 110 15 Daviess 234 34 Dearborn .... 207 14 Decatur ..... Z........ 135 21 Dekalb 244 49 Delaware ..... 1 ....... 539 140 Dubois .. . ;. 153 io Elkhart 462 123 Fayette 110 42 Floyd 328 62 Fountain 197 29 Franklin ; 119 g Fulton 157 22 Gibson 267 23 Grant ... 520 123 Greene •.... 337 75 Hamilton 252 53 Hancock 199 31 Harrison ... 119 16 Hendricks . 134 27 Henry ........... JA 7. 295 67 Howard 417 53 Huntington 256 50 Jackson 205 20 Jasper 118 10 Jay 213 37 Jefferson 220 30 Jennings ............. 132 28 Johnson 164 29 Knox .... ....... 524 101 Kosciusko 242 41 Lagrange 154 9 Lake 2050 9 Laporte ..560 51 Lawrence 341 83 Madison ... ...... ... . . 661 162 Marion ......... 3332 842 Marshall ... 200 37 Martin ............... 149 11 Miami 312 59 Monroe 253 45 Montgomery 248 46 Morgan v 192 39 Newton 75 7 Noble . . ... ..... ... .. . 180 23 Ohio ....... ... 39 5 Orange . ..-. 195 26 Owen -....' 209 10 Parke . . 162 38 Perry 107 12 Plko 173 22 Porter v 210 25 Posey 342 30 Pulaski ”'. . 127 10 Putnam 8-6 43 Randolph 276 34 Ripley 118 19 Rush 178 28 Scott 87 10 Shelby . . 282 60 Spencer .............. 326 30 Starke 81 10 Steuben 123 20 St, Joseph 123 20 Sullivan 926 170 Switzerland ........... 46 9 Tippecanoe .......... 393 82 Tipton . .... 191 33 Union . 38 9 Vanderburg ..1173 181 Vermilion 155 44 Vigp ; j 986 182 Wabash 243 26 Warren 75 17 Warrick 238 31 Washington ........... 167 21 Wayne . ..\ . 382 70 Wells .. . , 217 15 White ... ... 145 13 Totals , ...... .29962 4781