Jane Addison (''née'' Campbell, later Pocklington; 1771 – 27 February 1851) was the first

woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to petition a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

(with the ability to

remarry Remarriage is a marriage that takes place after a previous marital union has ended, as through divorce or widowhood. Some individuals are more likely to remarry than others; the likelihood can differ based on previous relationship status (e.g. di ...

) against her

husband A husband is a man involved in a marital relationship, commonly referred to as a spouse. The specific rights, responsibilities, and societal status attributed to a husband can vary significantly across different cultures and historical perio ...

through an act of Parliament and did so with success. The divorce was on the grounds of her husband's incestuous

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

and was granted in 1801. Only four other woman successfully won full divorce petitions against their husband before 1857. Prior to 1857, there were only 329 successful divorces granted in the United Kingdom.

Biography

Jane Addison was born in 1771 as Jane Campbell to Sir James Campbell (1737–1805) and Jean, Lady Campbell. The family belongs to the Inverneil branch of the

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

and could trace their heritage to the back to the 16th century. Her father was a Member of Parliament who occupied the seat in 1776 in place of his brother

Sir Archibald Campbell Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet (12 March 1769 – 6 October 1843) was a British army officer. From 1824 to 1826, Gen. Campbell commanded the British forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War, the longest and most expensive war in British ...

who was abroad fighting in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Prior to this, Sir James had also seen military service in America. The childless Sir Archibald had purchased the

hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...

of Usher of the White Rod for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1790 and Sir James later inherited the office in 1791 by which time Jane Campbell, was married to London

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

Edward Addison; and her full

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

, Jessie Campbell, was married to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

Dr James Campbell. Jane had married Edward on 29 April 1788. They had a

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

and

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

. Sir James Campbell, Bt. (named after their father) was Jane's brother. Such strong political connections allowed her to get a full divorce. Jessie Campbell returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from India in 1791 after which Jessie had an affair with her

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

Mr. Addison. The affair was deemed to be incest as marriages between a man and his deceased wife's sister was voidable (later made illegal). Dr. Campbell had learnt about the affair first and initiated divorce proceedings while Mrs. Addison learnt of the affair from her other sister Mrs. Elizabeth Cassmajor and her husband Mr. James Cassmajor. Jane left England to return to live with her father in

. Mrs. Addison attained a legal separation from a religious court on the basis of adultery with success and wanted a divorce. The Parliament was keen to note whether or not Jane was aware of her husband's incestuous adultery which Mr. Cassmajor testified against. Testimonies from various individuals including waiters and servants indicated that Mr. Addison and Mrs. Jessie Campbell were indeed having an

affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...

beyond doubt. There were initial calls that Mrs. Addison's petition was invalid as she was a woman, however, the fact that the adultery involved incest allowed the petition to remain valid. The ( 41 Geo. 3. (U.K.) c. ''102'' ) stipulated that Mr. Addison and Mrs. Jessie Campbell were forever barred from marrying each other and that Mrs. Jessie Campbell was barred from marrying anyone during the lifetime of Dr. Campbell who also received

criminal conversation At common law, criminal conversation, often abbreviated as ''crim. con.'', is a tort arising from adultery. "Conversation" is an old euphemism for sexual intercourse that is obsolete except as part of this term. It is similar to breach of pr ...

of £5,000 (approximately £371,332 in 2019) from Mr. Addison. Mrs. Addison was free to

and also attained custody of her children as her husband was deemed unfit to take care of their education. This was extremely unusual at the time as custody almost always went to the father (unless the child was deemed illegitimate in which case custody went to the mother). Later, Jane went on to remarry the wealthy

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

architect Roger Pocklington, Sr. on 2 February 1802 and had a son, Roger Pocklington, Jr in November 1802. However, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Pocklington began to experience financial issues leading to Mrs. Pocklington and her children's move to Leamington. Mr. Addison left the United Kingdom for

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to avoid payment of

. She died on 27 February 1851 (aged 80) and was buried besides her husband Roger Pocklington at All Saints' Church, Winthorpe. Her grandson was the first-class cricketer

Duncan Pocklington Duncan Pocklington (18 June 1841 – 1 June 1870) was an English first-class cricketer and Anglican clergyman. The son of Roger Pocklington, he was born in June 1841 at Walesby, Nottinghamshire. He was educated at Eton College, before going up ...

. Despite the case, women rarely acquired custody of their children after a separation or divorce until the

Caroline Norton Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton, Lady Stirling-Maxwell (''née'' Sheridan; 22 March 1808 – 15 June 1877) was an active English social reformer and author.Perkin, pp. 26–28. She left her husband, who was accused by many of coercive behaviour, ...

-influenced

Custody of Infants Act 1839 The Custody of Infants Act 1839 ( 2 & 3 Vict. c. 54) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and m ...

( 2 & 3 Vict. c. 54) and the Jane Addison case was publicly declared by officials as an exception. Divorce became easier to acquire after 1857.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, Jane 1771 births 1851 deaths Divorce law in the United Kingdom 18th-century Scottish women 19th-century Scottish women Burials in Nottinghamshire People from Lochgilphead

Biography

See also

References