1643 In the first record of a legal divorce in the colonies, Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was granted a divorce from her absent and adulterous husband, Denis Clarke, by the Quarter Court of Boston, Massachusetts. In a signed and sealed affidavit presented to John Winthrop, Jr, the son of the colony's founder, Denis Clarke admitted to abandoning his wife, with whom he had two children, for another woman, with whom he had an another two children. He also stated his refusal to return to his original wife, thus giving the Puritan court no option but to punish Clarke and grant a divorce to his wife, Anne. The Quarter Court's final decision read: "Anne Clarke, beeing deserted by Denis Clarke hir husband, and hee refusing to accompany with hir, she is graunted to bee divorced" I love the old English. Our language has really evolved into something gruff. 1874 331 ballots were cast in Winnipeg, Manitoba's first civic election. Only 304 voters were registered. The multiple votes resulted from people who owned land in more than one riding being granted a vote for each riding in which they were a landowner Hmmmm.
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