Sophronia Williams Thornton of Johnston didn’t have a clue what kind of life story she was writing for herself when she married Luther Mathewson on Oct. 2, 1853.

The 18-year-old girl moved with her new 23-year-old husband to Providence, where she gave birth to a daughter, Ida Abby, the following year.

Luther, who was a carpenter, announced to Sophronia six years later that he had to leave for a while on a business trip. After he departed, the days without him turned to months, then to years.

Sophronia received information that her husband had enlisted to serve in the Civil War. Two other enlisted men testified that they had removed his dead body from the battlefield.

Sophronia lived as a mourning widow for a time before marrying James Place, a slaughterhouse butcher, on Oct. 31, 1872. They settled on Pawtucket Avenue in Providence with James’s two children, 12-year-old Verdellia and 10-year-old Frederick, whom he had fathered with his deceased first wife, Sarah Ellis.

Sadly, Sophronia’s child with Luther, Ida Abby, passed away in 1883 at the age of 29. As if this was not enough of a shock to cast a shadow over Sophronia’s life for years to come, she received some incredible information in 1889. Luther Mathewson was alive and well and back in Rhode Island.

Luther had returned to the state with a new wife, 41-year-old Catherine (Burns), and four new children, the oldest born to him in 1867 and the youngest in 1882. Early in 1890, Sophronia and Luther met up and talked, although the details of what must have been an awkward conversation are not known. It appears that both parties simply went on with their new lives after the meeting.

In 1892, friction within the marriage of Sophronia and James resulted in her leaving him and filing for divorce. She was informed that the marriage was not even valid, as her first husband was still alive.

It was not until the summer of 1897 that Sophronia finally filed to obtain a divorce from Luther, who she had been separated from for 36 years. Her petition charged desertion, neglect to support and adultery, and she asked for alimony.

By this time, Luther had left the state again, so Sophronia mailed his court citation to where he had been living in Illinois. It turned out he was no longer married to Catherine and had married another woman, Laura Zeigler, in January of 1896. This was learned when Sophronia received a response from Laura, explaining that Luther had already left her, too, and moved to Kansas three weeks earlier to be with another woman.

Apparently Catherine had not been happy to learn her marriage to Luther was not legal and sued him for $10,000 for taking care of his household for so many years. If she was not a wife, then she had merely been a housekeeper, and she wanted her pay.

On June 25, 1897, Sophronia and Luther’s divorce hearing took place in a Rhode Island courtroom. The 62-year-old plaintiff was there along with the 67-year-old defendant. The court had no sympathy for Sophronia.

“The petitioner herself is guilty of adultery,” the judge announced. “Or at least gross misconduct and wickedness repugnant to and in violation of the marriage covenant.”

It didn’t matter that everyone had believed Luther to be dead when Sophronia remarried. All that mattered was that she had remained with James Place for almost two years before seeking a legal divorce from Luther. The court refused to grant the divorce petition.

Sophronia remained in Rhode Island, where she died in 1899. Luther went back to Illinois, where in he died in 1905.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.