The ALJs
Administrative law judges So last week The Legal Genealogist took on the question of the Magistrate Judge — that federal judicial officer appointed by the trial judges of each United States District Court to assist them in carrying out their responsibilities.1...The Magistrate Judge
A judge judge? Not long ago, The Legal Genealogist wrote about the issue of privacy on Facebook and happened to mention that, after a Facebook friend of a man had given federal agents access to his friend’s Facebook postings, a federal Magistrate Judge had given...The puzzling probate
The aftermath of death on the rails It was the night of the 10th of August 1887. A train left Peoria, Illinois, heading east with vacationers wanting to see Niagara Falls. But a trestle it needed to cross had been damaged by fire, and when the train was on the trestle...North Carolina’s constables
Constable vs. sheriff in NC Belinda Wilson, who runs the Mitchell County NC Genealogy Research page on Facebook, was posting some links to abstracts of the court records of a parent county — Yancey County, NC — when she saw that William A. Wilson, her...Separate property, separate debts
California’s 1850 law So last week The Legal Genealogist tackled the issue of California’s sole traders — women who, under an 1852 law, set up to do business in their own names even though they were married.[1. Judy G. Russell, “California’s sole traders
Affirmative action 1850s style On the 29th of December 1856, Catherine Underwood went into court in San Mateo County, California, and swore to a remarkable statement: That from this date henceforth she intends to carry on business in her own name. That said business...The law of holidays
Federal holiday cheat sheet So you’re sitting there writing up a paragraph or two for your family history and you figure, hey, it’d be nice to add a little bit of color. Some event of significance to your ancestor took place on 22 February...Philippina’s choice
Sensible or silly? When Frederick Kicherer of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, wrote his will on the 6th of June, 1896, he made only one bequest to his wife Philippina: “I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Phillippina Kicherer the sum of three hundred dollars...The Recorder Judge
The language of the law. Part Latin, part Anglo-Saxon, all confusing. Reader Joanne Shackford Parkes has a somewhat unsavory black sheep in her family who was involved in a court case in New York City in 1854. Allegations of abduction and seduction were met, of...Subscribe by Email
