Digging through Courthouse Records
Courthouse records can be a treasure trove of information for people searching for clues to their family history. And many of these genealogical researches eventually lead to visits to libraries, courthouses, archives and other repositories of original documentation and published works.
Types of Courthouse Records
There are generally four courthouse record types that will most likely yield relevant genealogical info. Each of them is briefly described here.- Divorce records - A typical divorce record would list down the spouses' names, the date and place of marriage, birthdates, birthplaces, their kids' names and the reasons for the divorce. In obtaining copies of the divorce courthouse record, write the county courthouse that granted the divorce. Include such information as the names of both spouses, the estimated year of divorce and the requesting party's relationship to the divorced couple.
- Probate records - Another excellent resource for genealogical data are probate records. These are generated at the time of people's deaths. They're created as a means of establishing will legality. A probate courthouse record often contains the will and will provide details regarding what kinds of assets the deceased owned. Such records also usually list the survivors' names along with their relationship to the deceased individuals.
- Adoption records - Adoption records include the names of the adopted kids, their natural parents as well as the adopting parents. While adoption records have reliable information, they're only allowed to be opened via court orders establishing "good cause" and often only by the individuals who were adopted.
- Naturalization records - A naturalization record normally contains citizenship petitions with the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and the local courthouse clerk, and a naturalization certificate. Most of these records can be found in the national archives.
- Dockets - Once a judiciary hears a case, it's included in the courthouse record docket till the scheduled trial. A typical entry on dockets contains names of the defendant and plaintiff for the case, the hearing date, the case file number, and the titles of all courthouse documents pertinent to the case. In general, dockets are arranged chronologically and sorted by category - equity, criminal or civil.
- Orders - Courthouse record orders are available in nearly all jurisdictions. They commonly include the case summary and the specific judgment to be implemented.
- Case files - Case files contain testimonies, depositions, correspondences, evidences and other courthouse documents related to the case. Finding case files would normally require getting the case file number from the case docket, index or minutes.
- Minutes - Court minutes are gathered by the court clerk. These briefly note down all the actions taken by the court for each day it was open. The minutes are especially useful when dockets and indexes are missing. They often contain the case's defendant's and plaintiff's names and the specific actions taken.
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