Before You Go Prep work is always in order before you travel to any location to conduct research. Here are a few of the things you should investigate before you go: Hours of business Holiday closures (and other closings) Locations Types of documents available to the public Coverage Turn-around time Use of electronic devises 1
3/25/2016 Circuit Court Documents There are various records housed within the Circuit Clerk s Office in any given court house Wills/Probate Records Chancery/Small Claims Criminal/Civil Court Minor/Guardianship Feebleness/Insanity Divorce 2
Wills and Probate Wills can be recorded in two different formats; short form and long form. Shortform wills followed a standard format, were hand-written into ledgers, notarized, and kept at the courthouse. Longform wills typically were written by the individual and submitted to the courthouse to be accepted into the will books. They were often notarized at the home by a justice of the peace and often include much more detail about heirs and executors than a short form will. Probatehas two meanings. It is the proving of a will in a court of law or it can be the administration of an estate when no will has been written. An Executor of an estate is someone selected by the decedent to act on their behalf. An Administrator of an estate is a person appointed by the court when no will has been supplied. Wills and Probate Probate can stretch on for years. Be sure to check multiple volumes to be sure that important information is not overlooked. Will books are separate from estate papers or Will/Probate packets. Packets often include all of the additional paperwork including receipts and bills, proof of heirship, property sales etc When requesting photocopies of any court document (especially wills) be sure to specify whether you want both front and back of a document photocopied, as well as all additional papers included within the estate papers. 3
Wills and Probate Notice of Claim Day ads in the local paper were a way for the estate to settle all claims made against the deceased in a timely manner such as doctor s bills, burial costs, credit owed to local shopkeepers etc A wide range of information can be found in a will including lists of heirs, vital records and inventories of property and possessions. 4
Administrator s Bonds are bonds that are posted on behalf of an administrator of an estate to assure that he or she conducts their duties according to the provisions of the will and/or the legal requirements of the jurisdiction. If the Administrator can not afford to post the bond another person(s) can do so on their behalf. If the Administrator can not perform the duties, or a loss occurs under their supervision, the bond can be forfeited and a new administrator selected. Chancery/Small Claims Records Chancery records involve cases involving equity (fairness) and include Family disputes Adoptions Guardianship Pensions (i.e. mother s, widow s, disabled) Early Chancery files often included divorce records. Small claims are cases that involve monies under 10,000. A fee is charged to file any court case. If a person wanted to file suit and could not pay the fee they could petition the court as a poor person and have those fees waived. This happened often in early divorce cases where the wife did not have gainful employment. Chancery files typically refer to the Complainant as the Orator and the Respondent as the Chancellor. 5
Criminal Records Criminal case files can include the following: Obvious felony criminal activity i.e. murder, assault, rape, burglary Delinquency Intoxication Debt Bastardy Abandonment Foreclosure/Forfeiture/Ejectment Criminal courts allow the defendant to appeal any decision. Courts were conducted on specific days of the year (typically a spring and fall schedule). The dates and list of jurors were often run in the local paper. Jurors were selected by the County to serve during the entire session hearing dozens of cases at a time. Some counties have recent court records assessable online. Minorship/Guardian Records When a parent (typically the father/breadwinner) in the family dies children were appointed a guardian to be sure that their interests were met during and after the probate and while partitioning any estate. Family members or close friends could be suggested within the will, but a judge would have the finally say in the appointment. Often women would have to petition the court for guardianship of their own young children. The guardianship would remain in effect until the minor reached the age of 21 or 18 and could then be responsible for handling their own legal interests. Guardianship could also be appointed for those adults unable to care for and maintain their own estate due to illness or incapacity. 6
Feeblemindedness/Insanity Records Insanity cases are sealed in many parts of the country. Some Coroner s offices have jurisdiction over these files in Illinois. Feeblemindedness cases request that a caregiver be assigned to assist with the person s legal obligations, i.e. real estate, estate management, etc Complete court records are often included in these files naming both witnesses and jurors as well as the verdict. Family members can be listed, but more commonly just the parents or person responsible for the care of the individual is named. The institution or hospital is listed. If remaining in the care of a family member, a home address is supplied and the doctor s name. Cases remain open until the named is either discharged or dies. 7
Here are two examples of 20 th Century insanity cases Divorce Records Early divorce records are typically found in Chancery/Small-Claims files Occasionally you will find divorce cases in Criminal Court indexes examples include: Abuse/neglect Abill was filed for divorce A spouse could file for divorce as a poor person to alleviate the burden of court fees. The poor persons case was decided by the judge and was recorded in the Fee Books. 8
Other Courthouse Documents Coroner s Inquest Records Vital records marriages are recorded under several different offices around the country. Property records All property transactions are recorded by the Recorder of Deeds office. These include: Military Discharge Papers Naturalization Records Coroner s Inquest Records The coroner s office keeps records for all unnatural causes of death (suicide, homicide, accident). Unexpected finds: insanity cases, feebleness claims, newspaper clippings of sensational crimes or disasters, photographs. Coroner s records can include list of personal effects; names of witnesses and their locations and occupations; names of jurors. Most coroner s requests are computerized after the 1960 s. You may need to search microfilm reels. Autopsy reports were often destroyed and only the verdict was retained in early coroner s files. 9
Page 1 Included in Christian Henne s Coroner s Log entry were two Newspaper clippings detailing The sensational facts surrounding Henne smurder in 1898. Page 2 www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/cookinqt.html www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/vermcor.html 10
Vital Records Vital Records (Births, Marriages anddeaths) are typically recorded by each county with copies of those records going to a centralized state agency. Exception: New England which kept their records on a city level. Marriages are typically the oldest vital records available at courthouses. Be sure to ask for a copy of the marriage applications which contain much more useful genealogical information than the certificate. In Illinois vital records were not recorded until 1877. They were not required by law until 1914. Births and deaths were usually recorded in registers in the order in which they were recorded, not date of the event. Certificateswere issued from those registers. It was common for parents to record multiple children at the same time. Microfilm may be available through a Family History Center or library. Births 11
3/25/2016 Marriages Deaths 12
Property Records Property records held in the Recorder of Deeds office may include: Deeds (including trust deeds and quit-claim deeds) Mortgages/Mortgage Releases Trusts Incorporation When an estate is settled and property is divideda copy of the will is typically filed with the Recorder s Office as well as the Circuit Clerk s Office. If the deceased owned land in multiple counties, wills would need to be filed in each location where ownership occurred. Property deeds will often give you an exact legaldescription of the property helping you to identify it on a map and assist in searching tax and assessment records. Property Records Continued Many counties in the U.S. have recent property transactions online Kane County, IL has historic property records online http://lrs.kanecountyrecorder.net/search/advanced Pennsylvania Land Records online www.landex.com/land-records-access.asp North Carolina Land Records http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/search/searchterm/deeds-- North%20Carolina/mode/exact Surname Indexes to Will County property transactions between 1836-1885 have been digitized and can be found here www.idaillinois.org/cdm/search/collection/ppld01 13
3/25/2016 Village of Plainfield Plat Map 1834 Wheatland Presbyterian Church Cemetery plat map 1864 14
Military Discharge Papers Military Discharge Papers (DD214) are kept on file at local county courthouses throughout the United States. In Illinois, these papers are managed by the Recorder of Deed s office. In 2009 Illinois sealed ALL military discharge papers to ALL parties except the soldier who filed the return. Discharge papers were originally filed by the government with each soldier s home county up until about 1944 at which point it became the soldier s obligation to file a copy at their local courthouse. 15
Naturalization Records Naturalization Records can be found in three different court locations: County City Federal (district) All naturalizations became federal in 1906 Naturalization before 1906 have no genealogical information. Forms filled after 1906 will include such information as height, weight, next-ofkin, address, name of the ship, sponsor and family names and dates of birth. Naturalizations filed after 1920 will typically include a photo of the applicant. Local Online Resources Cook County Clerk www.cookcountygeneaology.org Cook County Circuit Clerk www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/nr DeKalb County Clerk www.dekalbgenealogy.com Illinois State Archives www.cyberdriveillinois.com Kane County Clerk http://genealogy.kanecountyclerk.org/search.aspx Kane County Land Records Search http://lrs.kanecountyrecorder.net Will County Recorder of Deeds Grantor/Grantee Books 1836-1885 www.idaillinois.org/cdm/search/collection/ppld01 16
Online Resources Arizona Department of Health http://genealogy.az.gov California Death Index 1940-1997 http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi Florida Memory Project www.floridamemory.com/collections Georgia Vault http://cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm Illinois State Archives www.cyberdriveillinois.com Seeking Michigan http://seekingmichigan.org/discover Michigan Deaths www.mdch.state.mi.us/pha/osr/gendisx/search.htm Minnesota State Historical Society: http://people.mnhs.org/bci Online Resources Missouri State Archives Birth and Death Indexes: www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates North Dakota Death Index https://apps.nd.gov/doh/certificates/deathcertsearch.htm South Carolina Department of Health: www.scdhec.gov/vitalrecords/scdeathindexes Virginia Vital Records http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9277 Washington State Archives: www.digitalarchives.wa.gov West Virginia State Archives Birth and Death Records online: www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu 17
Book Resources Bently, Elizabeth Petty. Genealogists Address Book. Genealogical Publishing Company. Woodsboro, MD. 2005. Bently, Elizabeth Petty. County Courthouse Book. 2 nd Edition. Genealogical Publishing Company. Woodsboro, MD. 1995. DeBartolo, Sharon. The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists. Family Tree Books. Cincinnati, OH. 2004. Eichholtz, Alice. Ancestry s Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources. Ancestry. Salt Lake City, UT. 1992 Hatcher, Patricia Law. Locating Your Roots. BetterwayBooks. Cincinnati, OH. 2003. Book Resources Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State. A Summary Guide to Local Government Records in Illinois Regional Archives. Springfield, IL. 1992. Kashuba, Melinda. Walking with Your Ancestors: A Genealogist s Guide to Using Maps and Geography. Family Tree Books. Cincinnati, OH. 2005. Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian. Genealogical Publishing Company. Baltimore, Maryland. 1997. Schaefer, Christina. Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States. Genealogical Publishing Company. Baltimore, MD. 1997. Szucs, LorettoDennis. The Source. Ancestry Incorporated. Salk Lake City, UT. 1997. 18
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