Talk:Deborah Read

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[edit] John Rodgers/Bigamy

My source on John Rodgers' death in 1727 and the removal of the bigamy stub was http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/family/deborah.html Equinox137 06:07, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

The article you cite just states that she heard of her husbands death, without providing sources. If she was so convinced that he was dead, why the common-law marriage instead of a traditional one? Other sources, including the Ben Franklin article contradict your source. Dr U 07:27, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

This is a an issue that I think merits more historical research. You bring up a good question - why a common law marriage as opposed to a traditional one. The only answer I can possibly come up with is just that they simply lived together until the law recognized them as a common-law marraige. However, I really believe she should be taken out of that category at least until the laws in 1720's Pennsylvania on divorce, abandonment, and spouses that are presumed dead, and matters such as access to the courts are clarified.

As I said on your talk page, please don't get me wrong - I'm not assuming I'm completely correct on this issue, however it seems debateable that this woman was a practicing bigamist. Under these conditions though, it seems that if she were alive, she could have grounds for a lawsuit against Wikipedia for libel by labelling her as a bigamist. Although she has been dead for 220+ years, I think it's decent to get better information on the issue before labelling her as such. Given that she has been dead for 220+ years, I think we have plenty of time to figure it out. :) Equinox137 07:56, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Confusion

"1724, but her mother would not consent to the marriage, citing Franklin's frequent trips to England and financial instability. While Franklin was away in search of a printing press in the Mother Country, Read married John Rogers, who fled to Barbados in 1725 to avoid debt. Read accepted another proposal from Franklin when he returned to the colonies two years later."

Two years after Franklin left (1726), or two years after Rogers went to Barbados (1727)?