Docket books and loose papers of notary and justice of the peace, Joseph H. Schooley, of Allentown, New Jersey. Collection reflects the history of civil and criminal justice in Monmouth County, N.J. and Schooley's service as notary and justice of the peace. Includes summons, correspondence, affidavits, checks, writs of attachment, warrants, ballots, calendars, photographs, newspaper clippings, and advertisements, chiefly concerning contracts, motor vehicle violations and cases of disorderly persons.

Donated by the New Jersey State Archives, 1995. Finding aid the repository.

Joseph H. Schooley Papers, 1922-1949
Justice of the Peace
Allentown, New Jersey

Records Series: 3100.4

Volume: 5 cubic feet

History

Justice of the Peace Joseph H. Schooley (June 25, 1890-April 9, 1976) presided in Allentown from no later than 1925 to 1949; he also served as a notary beginning in 1922. His records were transferred in April, 1995 by the New Jersey State Archives. The accession consisted of five manuscript boxes of loose papers, now nine boxes after processing, and twelve volumes. The books, which are listed in this finding aid, are filed in Series 3100.1 - Justice of the Peace Docket Books.

Scope and Content

The Schooley series of docket books and loose papers includes records pertaining to both civil and criminal cases from 1922 to 1949. The docket books are in chronological order, while the loose papers are arranged in two subseries, criminal and civil. Within subseries, they are arranged chronologically by year, then by last name of the defendant.
The Small Causes Court docket books and loose papers document the typical civil cases regarding actions at law, contracts (demands), tort (damages), and debts. The majority of criminal cases recorded in the Criminal Docket books and loose papers concerned motor vehicle violations of all kinds, disorderly persons, bad checks, larceny, false pretenses, neglect, and abuse. Exceptions to these typical cases include such topics as fraud, slander, auto theft, bastardy, seduction, manslaughter, and violations of the beverage control act and beverage tax. These are just a few of the different kinds of unusual cases to be found throughout the series. There is also one book with a record of Schooley's service as a notary public from 1922-1930.

Many of the pages in the docket books had loose notes and papers attached with paper clips, including a few envelopes with cash paid as fines in the 1930s. These were removed and filed with the loose papers, with an annotation concerning the book from which they were separated. (The cash is stored separately.) This is one reason why the number of boxes of loose papers almost doubled after processing.

The types of documents to be found among the loose papers include summons, letters to the judge (from witnesses, insurance companies, attorneys, and Department of Motor Vehicles, et al.), bills, receipts, affidavits, checks, writs of attachment, demands for jury, counter claims, and all sorts of notes pertaining to these civil cases. The criminal case papers include complaints, warrants, convictions, court vouchers, and many of the same items found in civil cases (letters, bills, receipts, checks etc.) Sometimes interesting items such as sample ballots, photos, calendars, newspaper clippings, sketches of motor vehicle accidents, and even advertisements from companies like Campbell Soup and Sears and Roebuck can be found in both civil and criminal records.

The main value of this series is for the study of social history. Insights into human behavior are conveyed by the different kinds and quantities of cases that were prevalent in this period.

The records are also virtually unique for the study of the history of the judicial process as carried out by a Justice of the Peace in Monmouth County, an office which no longer exists. Although the Monmouth County Archives holds other justices' docket books and a substantial volume of loose papers that were forwarded by them to the County Clerk, the Schooley papers and docket books are the only set of complementary books and papers in the Monmouth County Archives for a single justice; as such, they provide an unparalleled day-to-day record of a justice's work. The records document the way such cases (mainly actions at law and contract demands in civil cases, and motor vehicle violations and disorderly persons in criminal cases) were handled. The series also contains limited genealogical and local history value through the names of plaintiffs, defendants, attorneys, witnesses etc.

Troy Dayton 9/12/95

I. Docket Books

 
II. Papers
1925 - 1949

A complete listing of the papers by box, folder, content and date is available at the Monmouth County Archives within the Justice Schooley Finding Aid.

Box and Folder List (PDF)

• Clerk of the Court Records
• Circuit Court: Loose Papers, 1838-1935
• County Court: Appeals (Criminal), 1947-1979
• Circuit Court: In Equity, 1851–1902
• County Court: Law/Civil, 1948-1983
• District Court: Judgment Books, 1913-1961
• District Court, Special Civil, 1976-1979
• Justice of the Peace: Docket Books, 1856-1949
• New Jersey State Chancery Court
• Quarter Sessions: Minute Books, 1667-1948
• Oyer & Terminer: Books, 1856-1948
• Superior Court: Municipal Appeals, 1979-1994, 1996
• Superior Court: Recognizor Registers, 1922-1986
• Superior Court: Small Claims Division, 1980-1982