Research In Court Records

Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session. It was a civic duty—and they could be fined if they did not attend.

America’s predominantly English heritage established a tradition of equitable and just court processes in which the people have a right to participate actively.1 A majority of American colonists were English, and they were accustomed to seeking redress in the courts. With relative freedom from royal supervision in the New World and court enforcement of religious as well as civil laws, American courts tried many matters that were not subject to court action in other parts of the British empire and that are now considered too minor to warrant criminal action. In many places, until the time of the Civil War, people were criminally prosecuted for such crimes as gossiping, witchcraft, scolding a husband, being publicly disrespectful to a minister, and refusing to attend church services. Indeed, some of these “blue laws,” as they were called, are still on the books today, although they are not enforced.

The benefits for the genealogist are considerable. It is not unusual for a single case to have involved between seventy-five and one hundred people, all of them being named in the course of court action.

Local courts were units of government as well as judicial bodies. They issued licenses to lawyers, physicians, merchants, peddlers, ordinaries (public inns), midwives, ferry operators, and clergy; regulated apprenticeships; established weights and measures; provided for inspection of goods and services; ordered the destruction of harmful pests and beasts; paid bounties for heads, tails, and skins; oversaw education for orphans and the poor; built housing for the maimed and poor, sometimes in conjunction with a local church; built roads and bridges and oversaw their maintenance; called local militia units to muster; assessed taxes and collected them.

Most of these administrative functions are now filled by county commissions, city councils, and other administrative agencies established for that purpose, each with its own records.

Courts also served a social function in bringing a region’s people together regularly. Court week (every three months) was a festive occasion. On Monday mornings, courthouses buzzed with activity as people argued about the cases on the docket and gossiped. Deeds were registered, wills probated, taxes paid, county records audited, elections held, courtships begun, and marriages contracted. Sessions were often juggled to avoid planting and harvest time so that most people could attend.

On Saturday afternoons, janitors swept out the courtrooms. The judges shook hands all around and prepared to start hearings in adjoining localities the following Monday. In between, courts measured, almost precisely, the moral, physical, spiritual, and economic condition of the people within their jurisdictions. A scolding wife, a quarrelsome neighbor, a Sabbath card-player, the owner of cattle wandering beyond their bounds, a dangerous liberal who freed his slaves and gave them land, an alien (non-English before 1776 or non-American after) applying for citizenship so he could buy a farm, a blind man applying for tax-exempt status—all of these and many, many more “ordinary” citizens appeared in court.

When court records have been destroyed—as when courthouses have burned—lost records have been reconstructed as far as possible so that legal business can continue. In short, it is safe to say that even the most modest individuals before World War I in America will have appeared in court records at least once during their lifetimes.

If court records are so valuable for genealogical information, why do genealogists hesitate to use them? The answer is simple: They are or appear to be more complicated than census records. Indexes for court records are incomplete, the records themselves seem difficult to decipher, and there are many of them.

This Page will acquaint you with legal terms, teach you how to read court material, tell you where to find the records, and describe what you can expect to find in civil, criminal, equity, and probate court records.

Ages of Legal Action

 

Legal Action	Legal Age	Exceptions/Comments
Inherit	From birth	An unborn child can also inherit
Be enumerated in census	From birth	Usually heads of household only until 1850
Witness documents	14 (male); 12 (female)	The age of discretion under the common law was 14 (males) and 12 (females). Some exceptions are listed below
Attend school	5	Some schools accepted 3-year-olds
Testify in court	14 (male); 12 (female)
Choose guardian	14 (male); 12 (female)	Must be 21 in New York. No choice until age of discretion; then, if guardian ppointed by court is unacceptable, can select another subject to court approval
Serve as apprentice	14 (male); 12 (female)	Standard term was to 21 (male), 18 (female), or time of marriage. If apprenticed before age of discretion, bound only to ages 14/12. Must have written deed which allowed for apprentice’s content, except for orphans on the public charge
Show land to processioners	14 (male); 12 (female)	Males only; southern states. (Procession means to walk around the boundary lines of local property owners.)
Be punished for crime	14 (male); 12 (female)	Some general exceptions before 1860. Complicated changes in the 20th century
Sign contracts	14 (male); 12 (female)	May be required to confirm contract after arriving at majority
Act as executor	14 (male); 12 (female)	Usually administrator with will annexed so the court had some controls. Age 17 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Missouri; age 18 in Mississippi. Bondsman who could act as co-executor required in Vermont
Bequeath personal property by will	14 (male); 12 (female)	Age 18 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia; age 18 (male) and 16 (female) in New York; age 21 in Vermont. Property may be held in custody of court pending review
Marry	14 (male); 12 (female)	Parental consent required in most states until age 21(male) and 18 (female). Married child not subject to control of parents, could remarry on death of spouse without consent if underage. Age 18 (male) and 14 (female) in Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana; age 18 (male) and 15 (female) in Minnesota; age 17 (male) and 14 (female) in Illinois; age 16 (male) and 14 (female) in Iowa. Marriage is valid without parental consent, but officiator could be fined. Annulment or Divorce only way to void the marriage
Be taxed	16	Males only were counted; females appear as “heirs of . . . ”
Muster into militia	16	Males only
Procession land	16	Procession means to walk around the boundary lines of local property owners
Take possession of land holdings	16	“In possession of” on tax rolls signifies that the person named is at least 16
Practice trade	18	Some cities licensed tradesmen to practice their Profession/occupation at age 18
Release of guardian	21 (male); 18 (female)
Own land	21	Some states allowed females these rights at age 18
Devise land by will	21
Be taxed	21	Full poll responsibility unless exempt
Plead or sue in court	21
Be naturalized	21	After meeting residence requirements
Fill public office	21	Age 25 or older required for some offices
Serve on jury	21	Grand jury, petit jury, coroner’s jury
Vote	21	Linked to 21 as age of land ownership, a prerequisite to voting in colonies