Guide to Historical Records and Genealogical Resources of Nantucket, Massachusetts
Court Records
When examining Nantucket's court records it is important to remember that over the past 250 years courts have regularly been established and abolished and a particular document or type of case can be found in the records of more than one court. Records pertaining to divorce, for example, can be found in both the Superior Court and the District Court. An excellent source for more detailed descriptions of the functions of each court department and the types of records it holds is Catherine S. Menand's A Research Guide to Massachusetts Courts and their Records (a copy is in the NHA library).
Superior Court
Superior
Court House, Town Building, 16 Broad Street, Second
Floor
Contact information: 508/228-2559; Fax: 508/228-3725
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30-4:00
Fees: Photocopies are available for a fee
History
The Superior Court has jurisdiction over civil,
criminal (capital crimes), and equity cases. The
court meets twice a year, in May and September.
Originally the court met in the Old Town Building
on Washington Street. Tristram Coffin, one of the
island's original settlers, was appointed the first
Chief Magistrate of the Island by Governor Lovelace
of New York (Nantucket was part of the colony of
New York until 1691). In 1671 Governor Lovelace
also appointed Thomas Mayhew Chief Magistrate of
Martha's Vineyard, and the two Chief Magistrates
constituted a General Court for the two islands.
The records of the General Court, which met once
a year, were kept at Edgartown (now held at the
Duke's County Superior Courthouse). Matters beyond
the jurisdiction of the island courts were heard
and determined by the Court of Assizes, at New York.
In 1692, when the provincial government was established,
the islands' general court was supplanted by the
Court of Common Pleas and the Court of General Sessions
of the Peace. By 1859 these courts had been abolished
and replaced by the existing Superior Court. The
Clerk of the Superior Court is also Clerk of the
County Commissioners and Clerk of the Supreme Judicial
Court. (Each Massachusetts court has a clerk, register,
or recorder who keeps the records of the court.)
Records
Court
of Common Pleas and General Court of Sessions
The earliest court records have been recorded in
volumes spanning the years 1721 to 1841. The volumes
contain records for both the Court of Common Pleas
(also known as the Inferior Court of Common Pleas),
and the Court of General Sessions. The Court of
General Sessions, which handled criminal business
and county administration, existed until 1827. The
Court of Common Pleas, which handled civil business,
was abolished in 1859, to be replaced by the Superior
Court. The earliest record books contain numerous
cases pertaining to crimes committed by Indians
and are particularly valuable for revealing the
nature of English-Indian relations.
Other records include a Court of Common Pleas record book* for 1847 - 1858* and Court of Common Pleas docket books* for 1835 - 1838 and 1839 - 1849*. Unbound materials for the Court of Common Pleas include civil cases spanning the years 1801 - 1859. A Court of General Sessions of the Peace record book exists for 1817 to 1833*. Assorted civil and criminal file papers* span the years 1801 - 1859*.
Superior
Court
The Superior Court was established in 1859 and holds
records for both civil and criminal cases from 1859
to 1998. Docket books also exist for these years.
Other Superior Court records include Superior Court
Sessions from 1977 to 1997 (this volume lists court
personnel and not cases); Superior Court Civil Sessions
Book from 1989 to 1998; and Naturalization Records,
including Petitions and Declarations of Intention,
accompanied by a card index file*.
County
Records
County Commissioners records exist in various volumes
for the years 1807 through 1998. Much of the County
Commissioners' business is taken up with the maintenance
and supervision of Nantucket's roads. View and Hearings
records exist for 1917 - 1921 and 1924 - 1934. Road
Hearings exist for 1937 - 1938, as well as Book
of Records of the Laying Out of Roads, dating from
the nineteenth century.
Supreme
Judicial Court
The Supreme Judicial Court, which was established
in 1780, is the highest state court: any matter
of law, civil or criminal, can be appealed from
the Superior Court to the law term of the Supreme
Judicial Court. The records of the Supreme Judicial
Court are kept by the Clerk of the Supreme Judicial
Court in each county. Housed in the Superior Court
archives are the following books: record books for
1826 - 1834 and 1835 - 1877; a loose-leaf notebook,
circa 1847 - 1863; docket books from 1835 to 1865
and from 1865 to 1877; and venire facias (jury lists),1890
- 1968.
Other
Records
Divorce dockets and cases exist for 1890 - 1933.
Divorce cases were once under the jurisdiction of
the Superior Court and are now part of the Family
and Probate Court. Seven notary* books, each with
a different keeper, span the years 1840 - 1880 (one
book, 1852 - 1870, contains naturalization records*).
A Surveyor's Book begins in 1888 and ends in 1936.
Microfilm
Record books 1721 - 1847, County Commissioners'
Record Books 1807-1915, and Selectmen's Journals
1784-1853 have been microfilmed. Duplicate reels
are at the NHA library.
*At time of publication, these records have been removed and are presently undergoing conservation treatment at the Supreme Judicial Court Archives in Boston.
Probate and Family Court
Nantucket
Court House, Town Building, 16 Broad Street, Second
Floor
Contact information: 508/228-2669; Fax: 508/228-3662
History
Massachusetts courts have performed probate functions
since the first decade of settlement. The first
statute to establish probate courts was enacted
in 1783 and it institutionalized what had always
been the probate functions: probate of wills, administration
of estates of the deceased, appointment of guardians
for minors, and examination of guardians, executors,
and administrators. In 1858 the Probate Court became
the Probate and Insolvency Court, which in 1978
became known as the Probate and Family Court. Over
the last two centuries, in addition to matters of
probate and equitable relief, probate courts in
Massachusetts have been given jurisdiction over
adoptions, divorce, change of name, and domestic
relations (separation support and maintenance, custody
of minors, abuse protection). In 1785 the Supreme
Judicial Court was designated to hear all divorce
cases; in 1887 the Superior Court was given jurisdiction
over divorce; and in 1922 jurisdiction over divorce
was transferred to the Probate Court. James Coffin,
the third son of Tristram Coffin, was the first
Judge of Probate for Sherburne in Nantucket in 1706.
The first Register of Probate was Peter Folger,
also appointed in 1706. Probate and Family Court
meets a minimum of one day a month.
Like deed records, probate records deal with property. Probate records include wills, inventories, and estate settlements. When a person dies, the probate court appoints someone to inventory and estimate the value of the deceased person's estate before a settlement can be made. Probate records can be particularly valuable to both genealogists and researchers. Wills, for example, can list heirs and describe family relationships. Inventories give a detailed listing of the property and possessions owned by an individual, in the process giving a picture of a home or farm or business.
Records
Records-including wills, bonds, inventories, certificates,
and petitions-span the years from 1706 to 1998.
An index, organized alphabetically by last name,
exists in the court. Researchers and genealogists
looking for records pertaining to a particular individual
may search under the individual's name.
District Court
Nantucket
Court House, Town Building, 16 Broad St., second
floor
Contact information: 508/228-3073; Fax: 508/228-5759
History
Established in 1918, the District Court has jurisdiction
over civil cases (juvenile), small claims, criminal
cases (petty crimes), domestic matters (such as
assault and battery), and felony violations of town
ordinances. The district court developed directly
from the police and municipal courts that were in
existence from 1821 to 1921. Prior to the establishment
of these courts Justices of Peace, first appointed
in 1687, heard criminal and civil cases. Appeal
from the decision of the justice lay either to the
court of general sessions or to the court of common
pleas, depending on the nature of the action. The
District Court meets once a week in the winter and
twice a week in the summer.
Records
Records, including docket books* and cases, span
the years 1918 to the present. Earlier records can
be accessed through docket books, which contain
alphabetical indices. From 1985 records have been
indexed in a file housed in the Superior Court vault
are six volumes that were kept by the trial justice.
These volumes are docket books and span the years
from 1875 to 1918 (one extends until 1933), after
the formation of the District Court). Most likely
the cases tried by the trial justice are in the
records of the Superior Court. It is important to
note that no records kept houses and acted as their
own clerks. They were not required to submit records
to a governing body or court. Some records created
and signed by justices of the peace do exist at
the NHA.