Determining an accuarate rate of divorce among polygamous Latter-day Saint men "is made difficult in that plural marriages were not officially recorded," writes historian Jessie L. Embry in Mormon Polygamous Families: Life in the Principle (176). Embry says that Brigham Young alone, as president of the Church, had the right to sever polygamous relationships. "In some cases since the government did not recognize the marriage and only a church divorce would have been granted, no official steps were made to terminate the marriage; husbands and wives simply no longer lived together," Embry says (178-79). She says children were not always aware whether a divorce had been requested.
     Using records in the Historical Department of the LDS Church, researchers Eugene E. and Bruce L. Campbell found that Brigham Young granted 1,645 divorces during his presidency, though the rate tapered off in later years. The Campbells acknowledge that no records specify whether all these divorces involved polygamous marriages, but they point out that Brigham Young "had no authority to grant civil divorces terminating monogamous marriages" and thus assume most or all of the 1,645 divorces he granted involved polygamous marriages" (qtd. in Embry 176). Their study and others, though flawed in some ways, suggest the divorce rate was higher among polygamists than among monogamists nationwide.
     Brigham Young encouraged couples to stay together, but did grant divorces. When considering requests, he was more likely to respect a woman's appeal than a man's. "One of Young's clerks explained, 'As a rule, the Prest. never refuses to grant a bill on the application of the wife, and NEVER when she INSISTS on it.' On the other hand, Young told men, 'If you have drawn a red iron between your legs and scorched yourself, bear it without grunting, and if it smarts, grease it. It is not right for the brethren to divorce their wives the way they do. I do not want to grant divorces.'" (qtd. in Embry 178). Jane Snyder Richards recorded, "If a marriage is unhappy, the parties can go to any of the council, present their difficulties, and are readily granted a divorce" (qtd. in Embry). The councils she refers to, however, most likely stake councils, typically forwarded petitions for divorce to the First Presidency's office.
     George Reynolds testified during the Reed Smoot hearings in 1903 in Washington, D.C., that divorce was granted "for plural wives ... on application, without any action of the (civil) courts, because the courts will take no action, as they do not recognize the marriage" (qtd in Embry).
     No records indicate that any James ancestor, including Joseph Henry James, Philemon C. Merrill, Samuel Merrill and James Lake, filed for divorce during the era of polygamy in the Church. Among Hatch ancestors, Lydia Goldthwaite appears to be the only one who petitioned the Church for divorce. This was with her third husband, John Dalton. The first husband, Calvin Bailey, had abandoned her without granting a legal divorce. The second, Newel Knight, had died in Nebraska while crossing the Great Plains to Utah with Lydia. Lydia is quoted in the book, Lydia Goldthwait Knight's History, on her marriage with John Dalton. She indicates that the divorce came at the request of Mr. Dalton:
     “Sometime in the Fall of 1851, a friend by the name of John Dalton proposed to become my protector for this life, if I wished him to do so. He had a farm six miles from the city, which he had no one to live upon, as his first wife lived in the city in a comfortable home. Said I could think of it, and sometime he would call again. This was a new idea to me; for since my dear Newel’s death I had never thought of marrying again. It had been all my study to take care of our little ones, and try to teach them those principles which would prepare them for usefulness in this life, and to meet their father in eternity, so that we might be an unbroken family in the future state of existence.”
     “What should I do? What would be for our best good?”
     “My boys had to go from home to get work, and the responsibilities upon me were very heavy. I prayed, I sought to do for the best. I had always believed in the principle of celestial marriage, since I received a testimony of its truth in an early day from the Prophet Joseph’s teachings. I have heard him teach it in public as well as in private; I have heard him relate the incident of the angel coming to him with a drawn sword, commanding him to obey the law, or he should lose his priesthood as well as his life if he did not go forward in this principle; and I had received a strong testimony of its truth when under the Prophet’s teachings. The spirit seemed to whisper to me, you can now test your belief by practice. What would be for the best for my children? If we were situated on a farm, it would give them employment, always at home; and the change would relieve me of many cares and burdens which were fast growing too much for my strength. My constant prayer was, “Oh Lord give me wisdom to do that which will be Thy will! At last, I concluded to accept.”
     The book then explains: "Lydia soon found herself, after accepting the proposition, situated on a farm, with plenty of labor for herself and family. She moved in September 1851. In December, 1852 a girl was born to her, whom she called Artemesia.
     "Nearly five years were spent upon this farm, and at the end of that time, Lydia returned to her home in the city; Mr. Dalton having expressed a desire for her to do so. He said she had performed all the labors required of her in an acceptable manner, but she was welcome now to return home.
     "She had lived under the celestial law, and had found no more trials than she could bear, and she thus gives her testimony concerning the principle: 'It may be, some will inquire of me, how do you like plurality after living in it and getting the experience you desired? What are your feelings now? I will say I like it first-rate; my belief is strengthened: I do believe it is a principle that if not abused, will purify and exalt those that enter into it with purity of purpose and so abide therein.'”
     Records indicate no other divorces among Hatch ancestors, although some chose to live apart for periods of time. Lorenzo Hill Hatch lived apart from Sylvia Savonia Eastman from 1877 until after the death of Alice Hanson in 1891. But after this time, Lorenzo lived with her again in Utah. John Henry Standifird lived with his second wife, Frances Argyle, in Alpine, Arizona, while his first wife, Mary Ann Argyle, lived in Taylor, Arizona. John Henry and Mary Ann did not arrange this separation as a result of marital conflicts, however, because John Henry visited his wife in Taylor on numerous occassions, and she bore four children during this period. More likely, the separation was due to conflicts between John Henry's two wives.
     Divorce and separation were an important part of Mormon polygamy, but nearly all marriages among James and Hatch ancestors, including monogamous marriages, seemed to have survived intact during the period from 1851 to 1922.