INTRIGUING FACTS ABOUT MAIL-ORDER BRIDES

MAIL-ORDER BRIDES HAVE A VERY LONG HISTORY,

GOING BACK TO THE EARLY DAYS OF THE

NINETEENTH CENTURY, WHEN IT BECAME A

POPULAR PHENOMENON ON THE AMERICAN

FRONTIER. BACK THEN THE FRONTIER WAS A

VERY DANGEROUS, BUT ALSO LUCRATIVE, PLACE.

MANY MEN FOUND THEIR FORTUNE THERE BUT

THEY SOON REALIZED THAT FEW WOMEN LIVED

ON THE FRONTIER

IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY MANY WOMEN WANTED

TO ESCAPE THEIR PRESENT WAY OF LIVING, GAIN

FINANCIAL SECURITY, AND SEE WHAT LIFE ON THE

FRONTIER COULD OFFER THEM. MOST OF THESE

WOMEN WERE SINGLE, BUT SOME WERE WIDOWS,

DIVORCÉES, OR RUNAWAYS

AS THE UNITED STATES STARTED EXPANDING WEST

IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, MEN BEGAN WRITING

TO WOMEN LIVING BACK EAST AND STARTED

COURTING THEM VIA MAIL. PHOTOGRAPHS AND

CORRESPONDENCE WERE EXCHANGED UNTIL THE

WOMAN AGREED TO MARRY A MAN SHE HAD NEVER

MET. THIS GAINED POPULARITY, GIVING RISE TO THE

MAIL-ORDER BRIDE INDUSTRY AS WE KNOW IT

IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY THE TREND WAS TOWARD

WOMEN LIVING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SEEKING

MEN IN MORE DEVELOPED NATIONS.

WHILE MAIL-ORDER SERVICES IN THE TWENTIETH

CENTURY WERE EXCLUSIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH

WOMEN, THIS IS NOT THE CASE ANYMORE. MANY

MAIL-ORDER SERVICES OFFER BOTH WIVES AND

HUSBANDS, AND MANY WOMEN LOOK TO THESE

TO FIND A READY-MADE HUSBAND TO MARRY

AND SETTLE DOWN WITH

THE MAIL-ORDER BRIDE INDUSTRY IS NOT ALWAYS AN

INNOCENT FIELD, BOTH FOR BRIDE AND FOR BUYER.

THERE HAVE BEEN CASES WHERE A BRIDE HAS BEEN

ABUSED, OR EVEN MURDERED BY HER HUSBAND.

IN OTHER CASES, IT CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS

FOR THE HUSBAND

IN SEPTEMBER 2003, TWENTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD

UKRAINIAN ENGINEER AND MAIL-ORDER BRIDE

ALLA BARNEY BLED TO DEATH IN HER CAR AFTER

HER AMERICAN HUSBAND LESTER BARNEY, 58,

SLASHED HER THROAT IN FRONT OF THEIR

FOUR-YEAR-OLD SON DANIEL

HOWEVER, MANY MAIL-ORDER MARRIAGES ENJOY

GREAT SUCCESS. THIS IS ATTRIBUTED TO A HIGH

AMOUNT OF CORRESPONDENCE AND ENSURING

THAT THE PARTNERS ARE WELL MATCHED. AT TIMES,

THE CORRESPONDENCE CAN TAKE YEARS. AS A

RESULT, MAIL-ORDER MARRIAGES ENJOY A

VERY LOW DIVORCE RATE

US IMMIGRATION LAW PROVIDES PROTECTION FOR

BRIDES ONCE THEY ARRIVE. IN 1996 CONGRESS PASSED

THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND

RESPONSIBILITY ACT. SECTION 652 OF THIS

LEGISLATION SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES THE

MAIL-ORDER BRIDE INDUSTRY