Series 23726

A separate agency history is available.

DESCRIPTION: In 1852 the Utah Territorial Legislature provided that the Probate Court should have jurisdiction not only in estate and guardianship matters, but original jurisdiction in civil, criminal, and chancery cases. The Probate Court could act as an appellant court to the Justice of the Peace Courts in the county, and decisions made in the Probate Court could be appealed to the District Court. This series includes those civil cases handled by the Probate Court which are not probate or estate cases. Civil cases include divorce and debt cases. In 1874 the federal Poland Act revoked the jurisdiction of the Probate Court over all but divorce and probate cases. In 1887, the federal Edmunds-Tucker act revoked Probate Court jurisdiction in divorce cases, and with that Act, the creation of this series ended.

Generally, case files include a number of discrete documents. These documents may include an initiating petition, summons and subpoenas issued to the parties in the case and to witnesses, bonds, exhibits, statements of fees, and other documents created and filed with the Court during the process of the trial action. Civil cases may include affidavits of publication of summons in those cases where the defendant was not served personally, as well as decrees detailing the disposition of the case.

ARRANGEMENT: These files are arranged chronologically by the filing date of the petition.

RELATED RECORDS: Series 22905, District Court (First District: Cache County)'s PROBATE MINUTE/RECORD BOOKS are the records books documenting the day to day activities of the Probate Court. These records also include criminal cases and other civil cases not documented in the case files.

FINDING AIDS: An electronic index to these case files has been created. It indexes the names of the parties involved in each case, whether the individual was a plaintiff or a defendant, the type of case, the filing date of the petition, and the box and folder number where the case can be located.

CUSTODY HISTORY: This series was transferred to the Archives in 2001 from Cache County.

PROCESSING NOTE: This series was processed by Arlene Schmuland in December 2001.

PREFERRED CITATION: Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

CONTAINER LIST