Are there divorce records on FamilySearch?
I think my Great-uncle in South Africa, Klaas Kornelis Van Hoffen, born about 1903, died 1981, may have got married a second time. I had assumed, after seeing a photo of his family without him, that he died in the late '50s. But, having found a notice of death which I am fairly sure is him, survived by a spouse with a different name, I now wonder if he left his first wife and remarried. Anecdotal family evidence, that his marriage was unhappy, supports this. Can I find divorce records on FamilySearch, and if so, how? Vuyelwa Carlin
Best Answer
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There are some limited divorce records in the catalog in Family Search that I have found in my work. You can search for them based on things like date, place, and surname of an individual. Adding the word "divorce" in the keyword field can lead you to these records. Here is an article on how to search in the catalog. Hope this is helpful. Others may have better suggestions.
https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-search-the-catalog-for-records
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Answers
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Thank you very much. Vuyelwa
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You may wish to join the Africa Genealogy Research FamilySearch community group. There are people in this group that may be able to help you find divorce records.
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Also, you can schedule an appointment with someone who can help you with research in South Africa.
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I could see the record of his death in 1981 with Wife Edna E.
He seems to be listed with his siblings on some other records with his father who had the same name. His father died in 1941. Is that correct?
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AnPen: Thank you very much for the suggestions, which I will probably follow up.
Thomas D. Fletcher: yes, Klaas Kornelis's father of the same name did die in 1941. There were six siblings, the eldest of whom was my grandmother. I would very much like to see the record you mention with the siblings, as I have been trying without success to find out the full name of one of my Great-aunts, whom I knew only as Aunty Babbie or Barbie (probably Barbara, but no success with that). Unfortunately I can't remember her husband's surname! How can i find it the record?
Vuyelwa Carlin
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Thank you for this answer. Hopefully it will help me find what I am looking for. 😀
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Thank you.
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Everywhere in the world that I have worked, divorces are documented (if at all) on the next marriage record. How I find additional spouses is I attach all available historical records to the tree within 1 or 2 generations of the person of interest, fill in additional details from those records, standardize the dates and places (as someone has been doing on your family's. tree), and see what other records FT turns up.
In the case of your Klaas there are many historical records waiting for your attention on the descendancy tree of his paternal grandfather:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/descendancy/KZN4-9D2
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Thanks very much. I have found out a little more about Klaas K jnr (still not absolutely sure whether the one with the later wife was the same person but think iit likely) and will add what I know to the FT.
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