Dear List member, I thought someone else would have answered thess court queations by now that appeared on the Oglethorpe County, Georgia, List, eariler today. I do not know all of the answers to these questions, but I will take a stab at what I think I know. The Inferior Court and the Ordinary Court were the same thing. They are now the Judge of Probate Court. I don't remember the exact date the name was changed but in the late 1900's. You may see some references to the Inferior Court sitting for Ordinary purposes when dealing with estates. Or you may see some type of initials on documents with a "I" in them, that is the Inferior Court. Perhaps a a witness, etc. This is where all the marriages are in Georgia. Also all of the estate records, guardianship bonds. Loose estate papers if they were kept. But, not generally in Georgia like in South Carolina. All kinds of stuff along this line. Maybe even some rare naturalization papers because it was a court of records. The Superior Court or Clerk of the Superior Court is where all the deeds, land plats, and mortgages are filed. Both offices would have court dockets and judges to hear cases. I am guessing that the superior court would be for a murder trial. If there would have been appeals I don't know about that. To a higher state court. Location of records, I don't know about. Murder would generally be a state crime rather than federal. Lawsuits I am not sure. I would think it would have something to do with the nature of the case. This is just a guess here of what would seem reasonable. Oglethorpe County is small and rural and not as busy as other places. No oil and gas lease people there like here in Texas. Call up the clerk's offices there in Lexington and ask them. I have exhausted my knowledge. Vivian Cates, Alto, Texas -----Original Message----- From: LanaSawey@aol.com [mailto:LanaSawey@aol.com] Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 3:55 PM To: GAOGLETH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GAOGLETH] Oglethorpe County Court Records Hi, Listers: I am interested in 2 different kinds of court proceedings in Oglethorpe, around 1875 and 1876. One involves a murder and one involves a lawsuit. I have noticed that there seemed to be 3 different courts, Inferior Court, Ordinary Court, and Superior Court. Would the Superior Court be where I would look for a murder account? Or did they also have a Criminal Court? Where would I find information on the lawsuit? Thanks, Lana Sawey LeCroy Researching surnames: SAWEY, WINFIELD, TUCKER, TURNER, HAGAN, HAYDEN, DRURY, McCORD, MAY, (paternal); LANGSTON, HALE, CABANISS, SCREWS, FITZGERALD, CRISWELL, BROWN, (maternal); LeCROY, NORTH, BOSHART, KENNAMER, STRIBLING, MARTIN, FULLER, BLANKINSHIP, PLEASANT, TARTT, (husband's) ==== GAOGLETH Mailing List ==== Please submit your transcribed Wills & Estate Records to the Oglethorpe County GenWeb Archives!