Annulment Case of Goodwin O’Grady and Clara Belle Morgan

After several months of waiting, I received a response from the King's Bench in Saskatchewan regarding my request for a copy of the annulment case for Goodwin O'Grady and Clara Belle Morgan. Before I talk about what I received from the Court, I want to mention a brief newspaper article I received from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. This newspaper article (shown below) is from The Wilkie Press dated March 22, 1935.

The Wilkie Press: March 22, 1935 - Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan

This newspaper article states that when Clara married Goodwin O'Grady in 1929, she believed that her first husband, William J. Morgan (identified as J.W. Morgan) was deceased. The newspaper indicates that he was living in Ontario, but does not indicate how she found out that he was still alive. Clara had not heard from her husband since 1922 or 1923, according to the article. This corresponds to the timeframe when his homestead was foreclosed.

And now...my response from the King's Bench. Below is the ruling that I received. I will admit that I am disappointed in this response.

While the Court did verify the date of the annulment as March 19, 1935, my request for a copy of the annulment file was denied for the following reasons:

1. I already had considerable information concerning the parties. Prior to requesting a copy of the annulment case, I had located their marriage record, as well as a single newspaper article stating the reason for the annulment. However, I was also hoping to find out the circumstances (when and how) regarding how Clara found out her first husband, William Morgan, was still alive. This information was not provided by the Court, and was not disclosed in the newspaper articles that I found.

2. I explained that the parties are, and have been deceased fore more than 80 years, and this case is nearly 90 years old. The Court responded by explaining that 'Although the parties may now be deceased, family law files are confidential in nature as they often contain very sensitive and personal information. The passage of time does not alter the private nature of such information.' 

I will admit, I am disappointed, as well as dumbfounded, as to why the Court would make such a decision. While I understand that cases of this nature do contain sensitive information, the fact that all parties are now deceased should not prevent the release of such information when requested for genealogy research. In Canada, there is a 92-year wait for Census records to be released, which is understandable (it is a 72-year wait for U.S. Census records), as there is identifying information recorded in Census records. In addition, I have obtained copies of the 1940 National Registration Cards from Canada by providing proof of death for those individuals concerned. In the U.S., I have been able to obtain unredacted copies of Social Security Number applications by providing the requested proof of death. In addition, the cause and results of this case were published in the Saskatchewan newspapers (I have found two newspaper articles so far), making this matter very far from a private one. I wonder if providing copies of the death certificates (which I have, but did not provide) for Goodwin O'Grady and Clara Belle Morgan would have made a difference in their decision.

I do not believe that any privacy or confidential laws should remain in effect in perpetuity beyond the death of an individual. If such were the case for any historical or genealogical record, then genealogical research of any kind would be fruitless and in vain. If there is information that is recorded for an ancestor that is out there, access to that information, regardless of the source, should be granted for genealogical research. When that ancestor is deceased, if a proof of death is needed, I am happy to provide proof of death, as that should be sufficient proof that privacy/confidential rules are no longer in effect. If my descendants want to find information on me that may have been classified as confidential or private, they should be able to do so without facing the roadblock of privacy or confidentiality laws. This is a needless roadblock to successful genealogy research, as learning about your ancestors provides a better understanding of who you are, where you came from, and how your personal history fits in to the larger picture of history we are all here to learn from.