Seeking District of Columbia divorce court records

Question

Where can I find District of Columbia divorce court records for 1901? According to the Washington Post, there was a 1901 petition for divorce that I would like to see.

Lisha Penn · Answer

Dear Ms. Liser, &#160; Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! &#160; Original divorce records for the District of Columbia after 1863 and prior to September 16, 1956 are maintained at NARA&#8217;s Washington National Records Center (WNRC) in Suitland, MD. You will need to know the divorce case number found in the index housed at the U.S. District Court or see the Clerk of the U.S. District Court . To access divorce cases, an appointment must be made with the WNRC at least 24 hours prior to the review appointment. Please note that identification is required to enter the WNRC. Please see Researching and Accessing Court Records at the Washington National Records Center . &#160; However, if you choose not to make an appointment to view the original divorce records, you may search it on Ancestry or FamilySearch . There may be a fee for using Ancestry. Instead, you may view these records online at one NARA's facilities for free via a NARA PC. For the nearest NARA location, please consult our web page at https://www.archives.gov/locations/ . Also, some of the images from Ancestry are available for free on Family Search at https://www.familysearch.org/en/ . &#160; We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research! &#160;