RECORD GROUP: Coun4200.4
SUBGROUP: County Court: Law/Civil
SERIES: Sample Case Files, including Name Changes
INCLUSIVE DATES: 1948 - 1983 (bulk, 1948-1977)
VOLUME: 45 cubic feet (1948-1977); 4 vols. (2 microfilm rolls, 1951-1983)
Scope and Content
In 1995, appraisal and selection was performed for 189 record cartons of County Court/Civil jackets (loose papers for cases) from the period 1948-1977. These records were authorized for destruction by the State Archivist on June 21, 1995.
About 10% of the 20,198 cases was retained, consisting of both a selected and a random sample.
Selected Sample
The selected sample of 35 record cartons was based on the following criteria: name changes, lien claims, and contested elections. These criteria were applied by reading the information on the outside of the case jacket, which usually provided information regarding the type of case.
In addition, staff opened and evaluated other jackets based on the following criteria: unusually large files; cases involving a deceased party, some of which related to auto accidents; cases where one or more parties was a town or government agency; and cases where one of the parties represented an industry important in Monmouth County, such as a shore business or a railroad. About 25% of these additional cases (those that were opened and appraised individually) were retained.
Random Sample
To preserve typical cases, a random sample of twenty manuscript boxes was taken. The random sample was taken by taking the first twenty cases of each year after the selected sampling was performed. Reading some of the cases in the random sample confirmed the validity of the appraisal criteria in identifying cases of potential interest.
Use
In 2004, the sample cases were indexed in a database, "CountyLawSampleCases," coded by type of case: NC = Name Change; LC = Lien Claim; CE = Contested Election; and OC = Other Case.
The database was supplemented by indexing the name changes in Change of Name Books 1 to 4 in the County Clerk's Office. These books were microfilmed and the originals returned to the County Clerk. The microfilm is available in the Archives reading room. The books cover the period 1951 to 1983 as follows: Book 1, 1951-1968; Book 2, 1969-1976; Book 3, 1977-1981; and Book 4, 1981 to 1983.
With the addition of entries from the books, which partially overlap the sample cases and extend the name changes from 1977 to 1983, the database has 4,263 cases indexed in the following categories: NC = 2,192; LC = 736; CE = 37; and OC = 1,298.
Use of the records is unrestricted. See also County Court/Civil minute books, docket books, and judgment books.
For name changes, 1983 to the present, contact Superior Court - Civil Part.
- Clerk of the Court Records
- Circuit Court: Loose Papers, 1838-1935
- County Court: Appeals (Criminal), 1947-1979
- Circuit Court: In Equity, 1851–1902
- District Court: Judgment Books, 1913-1961
- District Court, Special Civil, 1976-1979
- Justice of the Peace: Docket Books, 1856-1949
- Justice of the Peace: Schooley, Joseph H., 1922-1949
- 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
Page Last Updated: 12/14/2011 3:09:00 PM