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I Did Not Commit Adultery
Marital Conflict and the Law in Ontario in the 1870s
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Jim Phillips
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
This book chronicles the breakdown of the marriage of Robert and Eliza Campbell, a couple living in Whitby, Ontario. Their case precipitated a six-year battle in the Ontario courts and the Parliament of Canada in the 1870s.
In the Court of Common Pleas, Robert Campbell successfully sued the man he alleged had seduced his wife for criminal conversation, and Eliza Campbell successfully sued Robert’s brother James Campbell for defamation. Eliza Campbell failed, however, to get an order for alimony in the Court of Chancery. When this litigation was concluded, Robert Campbell petitioned Parliament for an Act of Divorce: the only way to get a divorce in Ontario before 1930. In 1876, he failed to persuade the Senate divorce committee that Eliza had committed adultery – the only ground for a divorce at that time – but Eliza succeeded in having an Act of Separation passed in her favour.
I Did Not Commit Adultery is a detailed study of how the law governed married women in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Along the way, Jim Phillips reveals the operations of the civil courts, the forensic skills of leading members of the Ontario legal profession, constitutional law, and parliamentary divorce, which has never before been examined in detail by Canadian historians.
In the Court of Common Pleas, Robert Campbell successfully sued the man he alleged had seduced his wife for criminal conversation, and Eliza Campbell successfully sued Robert’s brother James Campbell for defamation. Eliza Campbell failed, however, to get an order for alimony in the Court of Chancery. When this litigation was concluded, Robert Campbell petitioned Parliament for an Act of Divorce: the only way to get a divorce in Ontario before 1930. In 1876, he failed to persuade the Senate divorce committee that Eliza had committed adultery – the only ground for a divorce at that time – but Eliza succeeded in having an Act of Separation passed in her favour.
I Did Not Commit Adultery is a detailed study of how the law governed married women in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Along the way, Jim Phillips reveals the operations of the civil courts, the forensic skills of leading members of the Ontario legal profession, constitutional law, and parliamentary divorce, which has never before been examined in detail by Canadian historians.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Jim Phillips
Jim Phillips is a professor emeritus of law and history at the University of Toronto.
Topics
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Frontmatter
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Contents
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List of Illustrations
vii -
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Foreword
ix -
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Acknowledgments
xi -
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Abbreviations and Short Forms
xiii -
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Principal Members of the Campbell and Byrne Families
xv -
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Timeline of the Three Court Cases, 1873–1875
xvii -
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1 Introduction
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2 The Town of Whitby, the Campbell and Byrne Families, and the Campbell Marriage to August 1873
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3 Robert Campbell’s Separation from Eliza, August 1873
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4 Eliza Campbell’s Ejection from the Family Home, September 1873
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5 The Campbells Go to Court I: Robert Campbell v. George Gordon for Criminal Conversation, 1873
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6 The Campbells Go to Court II: Eliza Campbell (Robert Campbell et ux) v. James Campbell for Defamation, 1874
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7 The Campbells Go to Court III: Eliza Campbell v. Robert Campbell for Alimony, 1874–1875
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8 Robert Campbell Petitions Parliament for a Divorce, 1876
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9 The Senate Divorce Committee I: The Case for Robert Campbell
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10 The Senate Divorce Committee II: The Case for Eliza Campbell and Rebuttal Witnesses
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11 The Senate Divorce Committee III: Counsels’ Speeches and the Committee’s Report
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12 Eliza Campbell’s Separation Bill in Parliament, 1877
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13 An Interlude, 1878
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14 Eliza Campbell’s Separation Bill in Parliament – Again – 1879
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15 The Principals after 1880 – Winners and Losers
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16 Conclusion
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Appendix 1 Eliza Campbell’s Petition to the Senate, 29 March 1876
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Appendix 2 Eliza Campbell’s Separation Bill, 1877
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Appendix 3 Eliza Campbell’s Separation Act, 1879
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Notes
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Index
399
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
November 5, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9781487517458
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
432
eBook ISBN:
9781487517458
Keywords for this book
marriage law; Victorian Canada; Ontario courts; Robert Campbell; Eliza Campbell; criminal conversation; defamation lawsuit; alimony; Court of Chancery; parliamentary divorce; Canadian legal history; gender & law; marriage law; Victorian Canada; Ontario courts; Robert Campbell; Eliza Campbell; criminal conversation; defamation lawsuit; alimony; Court of Chancery; parliamentary divorce; Canadian legal history; gender & law
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
