Court Orders - A Vital Record for Pre-1850 U.S. Research

Court Order

This Court Order lists five of Anne Carter’s children and identifies who her real husband was. View Record

Many genealogists when they hear the words “Court Order” are less than enthused. The words themselves sound boring, and the idea that our ancestors might be lurking within their pages is foreign to many researchers. But, within these books may lie information that either is not found elsewhere, or may point to another record where valuable information is hidden.

Court Order Books are generally well preserved and many are available online through the Family HIstory Library Catalog, although you may have to search them at a local Family History Center. Regardless, they are worth the effort.

At first glance these books can appear a bit intimidating - the pages are filled with notes with very little separation between each entry. The entries are usually short and to the point. Usually there is a date entry on one page and then a number of pages that follow the date are filled with orders for that day, so to find the date of the entry you may have to look back a few pages.

In my experience, Court Order Books usually contain an internal index that is often very complete. Your ancestor may appear in multiple entries, sometimes on the same page. This is particularly true if the entry is related to the probate process. One entry may be the admission of a will, then a succeeding entry might be the order for an inventory of the estate, or a guardianship order. Of all of the orders I have found, the most valuable have been associated with death and probate.

Here are a few examples of orders that I have found regarding my ancestors:

Example 1: Court Order regarding Richard Jesper, deceased. 1 Oct 1821, Richmond Co., Va.

“Ann Jesper, Polly Jesper, Elizabeth Bragg, who was Elizabeth Jesper, compl against Alice Jesper, Harriot[sic] Jesper & John Jesper infants of Richard Jesper dec’d by George Saunders their guardian apt. by the court to defend them in this said defs in Cha This cause of consent this day came on to be heard and upon argument of counsel and full consideration the court doth order and decree that [___?]  (see decree filed) – Aug. Neale”

Source: Richmond County, Virginia, Chancery order book, 1831-1861, p. 284, Vol. 25, p. 211; Richard Jesper deceased, 1 Oct 1821 - children listed in court case; Richmond Co. Courthouse, Warsaw, Richmond Co., Va.; FHL microfilm FHL microfilm no. 33723 item 2. 

This order identified the children of Richard Jesper, my 3rd Great Grandfather, in 1821 when other records failed to identify them. Richard died intestate and in debt leaving very little information about his family. This court order was a gold mine!

Example 2: Court Order regarding Anne Carter and John Carter. 25 Feb 1783, Westmoreland Co., Va.

"Jane Carter Orphan of John Carter deced made choice of Anne Carter for her Guardian and the said Anne was appointed Guardian to Anne[,] Richard, Lucy and Presley Carters[sic] Orphans of the said John, and therupon she together with Richard Muse her Security entered into and Acknowledged Bond for securing the said Orphans Estate and Indemnifying the Court~" 

Source: Westmoreland Co., Va., Court Order book, 1776-1786, p. 138; Anne Carter named guardian to Jane Carter, Anne, Richard, Lucy and Presley Carter, orphans of John Carter decd., 25 Feb 1783; Westmoreland Co. Courthouse, Montross, Va.; FHL microfilm no. 34,297. 

This order identified five of Anne Carter’s children, who were listed in her will, as the children of John Carter. Anne’s husband had been misidentified as Thomas Carter. This find helped prove that Anne’s husband was John Carter, not Thomas, and pointed toward estate records that were miscatalogued in the Family History Library Catalog. John and Anne are my 4th Great Grandparents. Read the Full Proof Argument

Example 3: Court Order regarding William Stonum, deceased. 7 May 1719, Richmond Co., Va.

“Thomas Legg & Sarah his Wife formerly Sarah Stonum came into Court and made oath that Wm Stonum departed this life without making any will soe farr as they know or beleive, and on their petition and ~ giving security for their Just & faithfull administration of the said decedents Estate, Certificate is granted them for obtaining Letters of administration in due form”

Source: Richmond Co., Va., Court Order books, v. 8, 1718-1721, p. 115; Thomas and Sarah Legg [formerly Sarah Stonum], re: Estate of William Stonum, dec., 7 May 1719; Richmond Co. Courthouse, Warsaw, Va.; FHL microfilm FHL microfilm no. 33707.

This order identified Sarah Legg as the widow of William Stonum. No marriage record has been found for Sarah and Thomas Legg.

Of course most court orders are fairly mundane, but as you can see they can contain great information that you may not find in another document.