A Deaf Couple Divorces.



The case of Mary Ann Gray, from 1876, is mostly intriguing because of one specific aspect of her identity: Mrs. Gray identifies both herself and her husband as "deaf and dumb." She is careful to specify that both parties are literate, and that she herself was educated at the Doncaster School for the Deaf, an institution founded in 1829 that is still going strong today. Her daughter from her first marriage, Mary Peel, is not identified as either hearing or Deaf.

The official court record, intriguingly, makes no mention of Mary Ann's lack of hearing; it's an entirely standard grant of divorce and protection of earnings based on her husband's cruelty and abandonment. We only learn about it from Mary Ann's own words in her sworn affidavit.

Mary Ann's description of the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband also reflects their deafness: "He threatened to kill me and told me by signs that if I did not leave him he would kill me." This incident is distinguished from another occasion in which "he locked the door and took out a carving knife and by his looks and gestures gave me to understand that he intended to use it upon me." I think it is a reasonable interpretation that during the first situation, they communicated via British Sign Language, whereas in the second situation William only used general gestures.

Thankfully, eventually William deserts her, after a period in which she fled to the house of friends. Mary Ann testifies that since that day "he has never since seen me or written to me or communicated with me," which is slightly different from the standard petition language in which the wife claims that "since that day I have never heard from my husband." Again, in most ways this document is extremely similar to the other legal petitions of its time period, but Mary Ann's affidavit reveals in several small details how her experience was different because of her lack of hearing. Her handwriting, it should also be noted, also stands out as particularly elegant and clear among the affidavits I have been reading by lower-class women.

After the separation, Mary Ann Gray supported herself and her daughter by becoming a seamstress; she also eventually inherited 105 pounds.

From the perspective of my overall research, this case isn't particularly interesting, but I post it in hope that it may be of more use or interest to those involved in the history of disability. If nothing else, this woman got apparently fair, neutral treatment from the legal system and was able to escape an abusive marriage and establish a successful independent business and family.

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