Thanks to the Corona virus outbreak I am a bit behind in my posts - I think everyone will forgive me. For so many of us normal life has disappeared, and social distancing has suddenly become an essential part of my vocabulary.
So - the courthouse. Records from the courts can be an extremely interesting and informative addition to your family history records. Thefts, bankruptcies, divorces, and other charges - your ancestor may have been involved as defendant, witness or juror. These records are supplemented by the newspaper reports as well. Many newspapers reported local court proceedings, and in some cases your can find reports of the same case in different papers, sometimes with quite different slants on the events reported.
The newspaper excerpt below, reporting the divorce of my great grandfather James Nicholas Clark, appeared in court reports in the Brighton Southern Cross, the Oakleigh Leader and the Caulfield and Elsternwick Leader. All three papers carried the exact same report - down to the last word.
Several databases now carry various court records, and some have even been digitised. The Public Records Office of Victoria has in their online collection the Melbourne Supreme Court civil case records from 1841 to 1852, along with the Beechworth Court of Petty Sessions record books 1875-1878, cause list books 1875-1888 and Magistrates Court Registers 1888-1988. They are also in the process of digitising inquests into deaths in the coronial records and have some prison registers available online. Other court records can be accessed via their reading rooms. Check your local state archive website to see what they have available from the courthouse.
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