The two most important institutions in our eighteenth-century ancestors' lives were the church and the county court. The minute dockets of county court proceedings are an invaluable resource to researchers. The court convened one week out of each quarter (every three months), and citizens flocked to the courthouse to pursue their legal actions, serve as jurors or witnesses, register their deeds, enter an estate into probate and qualify as executors or request appointment as administrators, qualify as Masters of Apprentices, and answer accusations lodged against them (bastardies, unpaid debt, petty theft, property damages). Throughout the pages of the minute docket you will learn the names of the local officeholders, read of the county's tax levys and special assessments, see the names of taxpayers who are insolvent or exempted or have moved away. You will find your ancestor being appointed to a committee to construct or improve a road in his area of residence (a required duty). He will be serving as surety on an administration bond, standing bail for a defendant, or proving a deed to be recorded. He will be registering his livestock brand mark, applying for a tavern or ferry license, or requesting a guardian for his senile parent. You will know where he was on a given day, with whom he was associating, and what business was occupying his time that day. Transcriptions of Lincoln County's Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions are available at $25.00 per volume including postage costs. Vol. I: April 1779-January 1789 [Note: minutes of July 1782 session are not extant.] Vol. II: April 1789-April 1796 [Vol. III is sold out: July 1796-January 1805] Vol. IV: April 1805-October 1808 Vol. V: January 1809-October 1812 To order, contact Kathy Sullivan <[email protected]>.

> > [Vol. III is sold out: July 1796-January 1805] If anyone has this volume and would be willing to sell it to me please contact me by email Sincerely, Dorothy