This course provides an overview of United States court records, selected finding aids to United States court records and strategies for gleaning the records of the courts. It introduce additional resources and strategies for documenting the interaction of your ancestors and the United States courts; and provides a brief historical background as is relevant to various court records.
Students will be encouraged to share their findings (including additional sources and strategies) while studying the interaction of their families and the courthouse.
Students enrolling in this course will have successfully completed the National Institute for Genealogical Studies courses United States: Land Records, United States: Probate Records, and United States: Immigration & Naturalization Records, or have a great deal of experience researching land, probate, and immigration & naturalization records.
At the end of this course, an exam will be provided to evaluate your understanding of the course materials.
Course Content
Module 1
Introduction
Symbols
Caveats
Introduction to Court Records
Brief Overview of the United States Judicial System
Types of Law
Levels of Courts
Trial Court
Appellate Court - Intermediate and Last Resort (Supreme Court)
Types of Courts
Criminal Courts
Civil Courts
Recording Actions
Selected Terminology
Module 2
State Legislature and the Courts
State Statutes & Legislative Acts
Private Laws
Session Laws
Substantive Laws
Procedural Laws
Criminal Laws
Civil Laws
Municipal Ordinances/Laws
Collections of Official State Code
Local and Statewide Courts
The Courts
Trial Courts
General Jurisdiction
Limited Jurisdiction
Criminal Case
Civil Case
Intermediate Appellate Court
Supreme Court
Module 3
Court Records
Local and Statewide Courts - Record Keeping
Local Court Officials
Records of the Courts
Published Records
Case Reporters
Digests - Summaries of Cases
Additional Court Records
Records and Registrations
Vital Records
Registers of Vital Records
Military Discharge Records
Voters Registration
Tax Records
Coroner's Records
Divorce Records
Relief for the Poor and Infirmed
Bastardy Records
Naturalizations
Bonds
New England Record Keeping
Fence Viewers, Surveyors, Jurors...: Town Records
Finding Aids to New England Town Records
Resources
Pitfalls of Courthouse Research
Module 4
Federal Courts
dt>Required Reading
U.S. Constitution
Trial Courts
U.S. District Courts (RG 21)
Records of District Courts of the United States
Records Related to Federal District Courts
U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
U.S. Court of International Trade
Records of the U.S. Court of International Trade (RG 321)
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Courts of Appeals - Intermediate Courts of Appeals
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Supreme Court (RG 267)
Published Records
House and Senate Journals
Module 5
Additional Federal Judicial Jurisdictions
U.S. Court of Claims (RG 123)
Claims: Pre-1855
Claims: 1855-1982
American State Papers
U.S. Serial Set
U.S. Territorial Courts and Records (RG 21)
Eastern Cherokee Applications to the U.S. Court of Claims, 1906-1909
Records of the Department of Treasury (RG 56) relating to Claims
Southern Claims Commission
Division of Captured Property, Claims, and Lands, 1855-1900
U.S. House of Representatives Private Claims
U.S. Courts in Indian Territory
Records of the Adjutant General's Office (RG 94), 1780s-1917
Federal Courts-Martial (RG 153)
Confederate Courts
U.S. Admiralty Courts
Module 6
Strategies & Finding Aids for Successful Use of Courthouse Records
Required Reading
Strategies for Success
Interpreting the Records
Finding Aids
State Judicial Systems - Online Resources
Additional Online Resources
Selected Resources
Lectures on Audio
National Archives Resources
What is National Archives Catalog, Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and the Guide to Federal Records?
National Archives Facilities
Case Study
Case Study of Peter Wright
Case Study Outline
Case Study Information
Module 7
Court Records Online
Introduction
FamilySearch
Historical Records Collection
FamilySearch Catalog
FamilySearch Digital Library
FamilySearch Research Wiki
Start, But Dont End with FamilySearch
Ancestry
National Archives
Digitized Book Websites
Courthouse Websites
State Archives, Libraries, and Historical Societies
It is Not All Online, But Some of It Is!
Appendix
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