Millicent Cross

Uriah married first, August 3, 1771 to Millicent Guernsey (petition for divorce dated August 5, 1778, Conn. State Archives, Ref Group #3, Box 3 18), daughter of Beriafi and Mabel (Yoemans) Guernsey. Millicent was born August 23, 1753 at Tolland, then Windham County-now Tolland County, Conn. (Starr, Edward C., History of Cornwall, CT, (New Haven Conn. 1926).

Millicent was granted a divorce from Uriah in February 1779 by the Superior Court of Lichfield County, Conn., on the grounds of desertion and adultery. Milicent's petition in the record of the Court states that Uriah deserted her in March 1777, "the said Uriah instigated by his own wicked mind, without any provocation given him by your petitioner, did publicly and willfully renounce your petitioner and her bed and did go off at said time from Cornwall and during his desertion has been frequently guilty of adultery." Uriah's desertion of Millicent in 1777 was to be considered an outrageous deed since it occurred only six weeks before the birth of their daughter Lucretia in April 1777.

Additional depositions in the file to support Millicent's claims of adultery provide a graphic description of Uriah cohabitating (sic) with "Anna Paine (sic) reported daughter of Abraham Paine of Cornwall." The depositions also state that Uriah claimed to be "lawfully married to Anna" and/or represented her (Anna) as his wife"