Library & Archives

Manuscript Collections

Collection 32

Monmouth County

Legal Dockets, 1793-1898

Processed by

Lois R. Densky

Edited by

Gregory J. Plunges


Monmouth County Historical Association
70 Court Street
Freehold, New Jersey 07728

April 1981

DESCRIPTION OF COLLECTION

The collection consists of legal dockets of Justices of the Peace of various Monmouth County municipalities. These include Colts Neck, Englishtown, Freehold Twp, Hornerstown, Howell Twp, Mechanicsville, Middletown, Monmouth County miscellany, Neptune Twp, Shrewsbury Twp, and Upper Freehold Twp. Some miscellaneous volumes include a Freehold trial docket, a Neptune Twp registry list, and two books of Monmouth Pleas. These and the legal dockets are representative of cases heard by the Justices before the Court of Small Causes. Bulk dates of the dockets are from 1802 to 1843.

Justices of the Peace who are represented in this collection include: John W. Bartleson, D. Brannin, David M. Cubberly, Ezekiel Davison, James R. English, Thomas Fardon, Samuel Hall, John Deadden, Gilbert Hendrickson, James Herbert, Samuel Holmes, John I. Little, Garret Longstreet, Moses S. McChesney, Timothy Murphy, John Quay, Joseph F. Randolph, Amos Shaw, John Statesir, Henry Tiebout, Cornelius P. Vanderhoef, John P. Van Pelt, E B Wainwright, Halsted H. SWainwright, and Isaac N. Woodward.

In addition to trials before the Court of Small Causes, Isaac N. Woodward's legal docket includes records of marriages performed by him in Upper Freehold Twp. Some dockets contain enclosures and/or alphabetical indicies. A ciphering book of James Braning (p.131-134) was begun on the verso of D. Brannin's docket. The July Term 1812 Monmouth Pleas lists Monmouth County constables and causes for trial. The April Term 1817 Monmouth Pleas gives causes for trial and lists persons licensed to keep inns and taverns.

The legal dockets provide researchers with excellent source material for the study of Monmouth County judicial and legal history. The collection is sorted by size and placed in letter and legal-size boxes alphabetically by town or township, then arranged chronologically.

PROVENANCE:

The Joseph F. Randolph dockets acquired in 1937, a gift of Judge Rulif V. Lawrence of Freehold, NJ.

The 1793- 1795 Trial Docket acquired in 1940, a gift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, in memory of her husband.

The remainder of the dockets acquired in 1939, a gift of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, Freehold, NJ, through Mr. James S. Parkes.

Provenance of docket numbers 322 and 380 are unclear; however, it is most likely that they also were a gift of the Freeholders.

RESTRICTIONS: None

SIZE OF COLLECTION: 3-1/2 Linear Feet. 44 volumes.

CONTAINER LIST
LDO = Legal Docket Of

Box 1

ENGLISHTOWN
1. 1812 - 1815, LDO James R. English
2. 1838 - 1842, LDO Moses S. McChesney
3. 1839 - 1842, LDO John Headden

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP
4. 1793 - 1795, Trial Docket
5. 1804 - 1809, LDO James Herbert
6. 1805, LDO James Herbert #2
7. 1806, LDO James Herbert

Box 2

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP (includes some Englishtown material)
1. 1808 - 1809, LDO James Herbert
2. 1810 - 1811, LDO John Quay
3. 1811 - 1812, LDO Ezekiel Davison #2
4. 1811 - 1812, LDO James Herbert
5. 1812 - 1813, LDO James Herbert #16
6. 1815 - 1816, LDO Ezekiel Davison
7. 1816 - 1818, LDO Ezekiel Davison

Box 3

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP
1. 1825 - 1830, LDO Joseph F. Randolph
2. 1829 - 1837, LDO Joseph F. Randolph

HOWELL TOWNSHIP
3. 1851 - 1856, LDO Amos Shaw

MECHANICSVILLE
4. 1803 - 1809, LDO Timothy Murphy (of Bethany)

MIDDLETOWN
5. 1802 - 1803, LDO Garret Longstreet
6. 1806, LDO Garret Longstreet
7. 1806, LDO Garret Longstreet
8. 1812 - 1815, LDO Garret Longstreet

Box 4

SHREWSBURY TOWNSHIP
1. 1817 - 1820, LDO Samuel Holmes #1

UPPER FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP
2. 1846 - 1857, LDO David Cubberly

MONMOUTH COUNTY MISCELLANY
3. 1818 - 1826, LDO John P. Van Pelt
4. 1848 - 1868, LDO Thomas Fardon

Box 5

COLTS NECK
1. 1839 - 1843, LDO John Statesir

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP
2. 1874 - 1881, LDO John Bartleson

HORNERSTOWN
3. 1827 - 1836, LDO Isaac N. Woodward

HOWELL TOWNSHIP
4. 1818, LDO John I. Little #1
5. 1818 - 1823, LDO John I Little #2

Box 6

HOWELL TOWNSHIP
1. 1826, LDO Samuel Hall #3
2. 1829, LDO Halsted H. Wainwright
3. 1833 - 1834, LDO Samuel Hall #9
4. 1866 - 1868, LDO E. B. Wainwright

NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP
5. 1898, Registry List, Third District

SHREWSBURY TOWNSHIP
6. 1808 - 1812, LDO Henry Tiebout

UPPER FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP
7. 1813 - 1824, LDO Gilbert Hendrickson

Box 7

MONMOUTH COUNTY MISCELLANY
1. 1803 - 1805, LDO Cornelius P. Vanderhoef
2. 1806 - 1810, LDO Cornelius P. Vanderhoef
3. 1810 - 1814, LDO Cornelius P. Vanderhoef
4. 1812, Monmouth Pleas, July Term 1812
5. 1817, Monmouth Pleas, April Term 1817
6. 1826 - 1830, LDO, D. Brannin

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Applegate, John Stillwell. Early Courts and Lawyers of Monmouth County. s.l. : L. Middleditch Co. 1911

2 . Ellis, Franklin. History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Philadelphia: RT Peck, 1885

3. Whitehead, John. The Judicial and Civil History of New Jersey (Boston?) : Boston History Co., 1897

4. Wiley, Samuel T., ed. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of the Third Congressional District of New Jersey... Philadelphia : Biographical Publishing Co., 1896 (Includes biographical notes on Halsted H. Wainwright, d. 1849).

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