How Do You Access Historical Court Records for Family History?

Historical court records and legal documents hold a wealth of information for genealogy researchers. Knowing how to access them easily makes all the difference in your quest for accurate family history. Today, many are digitized in easy-to-search databases. For others, you will have to contact the courthouse or other official repositories directly and request copies of official documents. Unfortunately, many have been lost over the years, and others have never been organized due to lack of interest, staff or volunteers, or funding.

If you can find them, expect details that are not included in ordinary records like birth, marriage, and death certificates or census reports. They cover things like land disputes, criminal trials, probate court proceedings, civil lawsuits, and more. Not only can you get information about family members and locations, but also business-related events and similarly telling life circumstances. 

Knowing how to access historical court records gives you the opportunity to explore what could potentially be a very rich collection of data about your family members.

Where to Begin with Court Record Research

How do you know what to search for in historical archives? If you have information or even a rumor about a past relative going to prison or getting sued, that’s a fine place to start. If not, start with property ownership documents or estate management. Most people had some type of will, and these would often be a matter of public record.

Familiarize yourself with what court records go with what life events. Losing custody or adopting a child requires a guardianship case. Financial troubles may involve civil lawsuits for debt or owned property sales. Form educated guesses about the type of legal events that apply to a particular person. While you can simply start searching everywhere with the individual’s name, this will take a lot more time and energy.

Jurisdiction – Contact the Local Courthouse Archives

You might find the most helpful records at local courthouses and historical archives. Focus on the county, city, town, or district levels. If you have information about the type of proceedings that took place, you should know where it happened.

First, see if they have an online portal for archival research. This will make things much easier. If not, or if you don’t find what you’re looking for, send an email or call them directly. Give specific details about what you’d like to find: names, dates, case types, etc. Realize that this will take a while. Most smaller courthouses don’t have dedicated staff to help with this type of thing.

Search Tips for Online Portals and Databases

Digital databases make searching much easier. Many genealogy platforms like MyHeritage have their own court records collections or links to them. You can even start on any large search engine. These tips can help:

• Try multiple versions of the names involved. Consider common misspellings, abbreviations, and initials.
• Use broader date ranges. Most court cases span multiple days, weeks, or even months. Different dates could have been recorded related to them.
• Filter by the type of record: probate, civil, or criminal court.

If you do find something promising, request the records using the appropriate method. Some you can download directly, as they are a matter of public record. Others may be restricted by certain laws, policies, or privacy regulations. In some cases, redacted versions are available, which can still provide some quality genealogy information. There are as many methods and requirements as there are record types in jurisdictions all across the country, and it can take time to weed through them all.