Salisbury District: Reference Docket Superior Court, 1767-1769
Metadata
Audience: All
Place: Salisbury District (historical), North Carolina, United States
Time Period: (1763-1789) American Revolution
Creator: United States. District Court (North Carolina: Salisbury District)
Date: 1767; 1768; 1769
Description: Reference docket for the Salisbury District Superior Court, from 1767 to 1769. Following the adoption of North Carolina's first state constitution in 1776, the General Assembly assumed responsibility for the design of the new state's judiciary system. The court law enacted by the 1777 General Assembly in essence reinstated provisions of the 1767 court law; and when the special criminal courts came to an end in 1778, the General Assembly reestablished the old superior court districts. However, the General Assembly introduced several changes in the duties and jurisdictions of the district superior courts, including the following: power of probate for deeds and wills was no longer vested in the district superior courts; jurisdiction over equity matters, formerly vested in the Court of Chancery (a colonial court of equity in effect from 1670 to 1775), was transferred in 1782 to the district superior courts; and exclusive jurisdiction over civil suits involving a monetary value of one hundred rather than fifty pounds sterling was reserved for the district superior courts. Thereafter, additional districts were created as needed: Morgan (1782); Washington (1784); Davidson (1785); Fayetteville (1787); and Mero (1788). Beginning in the 1780s, legislative enactments variably referred to these courts as district courts, superior courts of law and equity, or the superior courts of law and courts of equity. After the cession of the western territory (Tennessee) to the federal government in 1789, the district superior court system underwent various changes. The courts and records of the three western districts (Washington, Davidson, and Mero) were transferred to the custody of the federal government and eventually to the state of Tennessee. Also, North Carolina's remaining eight districts were divided geographically into the Western Riding District, composed of Fayetteville, Hillsborough, Morgan, and Salisbury districts, and the Eastern Riding District consisting of Edenton, Halifax, New Bern, and Wilmington districts.
Digital Collection: District Superior Court Records
Digital Format: image/jpeg
Digital Characteristics: 286 pages
Language: English
Local call no.: SR.398.7 VOL 26
Format: Dockets; Legal documents; Judicial records
Rights: This item is provided courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina and is a public record according to G.S.132.
Collection: Salisbury District Superior Court. District Superior Courts. State Archives of North Carolina
Subjects: Court records; District courts; Dockets; Salisbury (N.C.)
Title: Salisbury District: Reference Docket Superior Court, 1767-1769
Type: Text
Repository: North Carolina Digital Collections
Source: From: Salisbury District: Reference Docket Superior Court, 1767-1769