[Phoenix]

Best Mate phoned me yesterday: she had found a court case where great grandfather was accused of threatening language towards his wife. She was dreadfully upset, as this shattered her notion of domestic bliss.

He must have been yelling at the top of his voice, so all the neighbours could hear, however there was no suggestion of actual violence, they stayed together, and had an enormous family. There were no other court cases, so in the future he was either more moderate, or more circumspect.

It is hard enough to spot the cracks in modern marriages. Were our ancestors' marriages love matches, or economic necessities?

One of my ancestors ran away from his father's beatings, while his mother was in and out of prison like a yo-yo.