Courts
 |
A Unique Multi-Court Index on FamilySearchCuyahoga Abstract Title and Trust Company (Cleveland, Ohio) Card FileThis wonderful set of cards can be found under the title, “Cuyahoga County Probate Records Case File Index 1896-1967,” but it is so much more. "This material was donated to the Ohio Genealogical Society by the late John Grecol, Fairview Park, Ohio in 1999 through OGS Cleveland District trustees Dianne Young and Jean Barnes. The cards were produced by Cuyahoga Abstract Title and Trust Company and its successors, the last being LandAmerica... . These served as an access point to court records for the title company and represented documents that named heirs where property could be transferred. The cards gave the case number so that the original papers and eventually the proper microfilm roll could be pulled while doing title abstract work. The cards contain all federal court items that affected real property from approximately 1898 to 1971, all probate case items (except land sales), and all divorces from 1904 to 1954."--Finding Aid (from FamilySearch) CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROBATE RECORDS CASE FILE INDEX 1896-1967:
DIVORCE RECORDS – You can find divorce records in this index. Search the husband’s first and last names, and the wife’s first and last married name (you are doing two separate searches.) If you find a common case number on both of their cards and it is labelled DIV (for Divorce), you now have the case number for the divorce and can look for it at the link below, or email the Clerk of Courts Civil File Requests Department at coccfr@cuyahogacounty.us. In the email say that you’d like a divorce file for case # (insert case number), the name of the husband and wife, and the year if you have it. They will send you the file. ADOPTION RECORDS – You can also search adoptions in the above index if you know both the birth name of the child and the parent’s adopted surname. You’ll find an index card under both names, with a matching case number and the words Adoption, Adop, or Adp. You can use that case number to search the case numbers in the Docket List below and at least you would know when the adoption took place. But, that is all that you will get. Unless you are a direct descendant, you won’t be allowed to view the adoption file, and it won’t be in the Probate Court files digitized below either, as they were not filmed. If you can find both names, you can then use other records to search for further information. IN ADDITION to Estate, Divorce, and Adoption Records, one might find the following and more:
Another Unique Multi-Court OfferingAnnals of Cleveland, court record series of Cuyahoga County, 1869-1870 on FamilySearch. Entitled, Abstracts of the Records of Court Cases in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 1870, This WPA series of books contains court records told in story form without the legalese. Only two years are covered. The volumes here are numbers 5 and 7. Obviously the collection here is incomplete, but a fascinating look at life during those two years in District 4. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas CourtCuyahoga County Justice Center1200 Ontario St. Cleveland, OH 44113 216-443-7950 The Justice Center is on the south side of Lakeside Avenue, across from the Old Courthouse. It holds the Clerk of Courts for both Civil and Criminal cases.
Here you can search criminal and civil court case dockets. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Journals 1823-1852 on FamilySearch (has images) Domestic Relations Court - Division of Common Pleas CourtCuyahoga County Courthouse1 W. Lakeside Avenue, Room 35 Cleveland, OH 44113 Divorce records 1882- present should be here after the move in June 2013. These are handled through the Common Pleas court, and the records are housed at here at the old courthouse. Call 443-7966 (first floor Justice Center) for the index department to see if they have a divorce that you are interested in. If they do, ask for the Case Number and then call the microfilm room at 443-7939 to arrange to have copies mailed to you. Cuyahoga County Supreme CourtCuyahoga County Supreme Court records 1831-1842 on FamilySearch. (has images) U.S. District Court Northern District of OhioCarl B. Stokes U.S. Court House801 West Superior Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44113 (216) 357-7000 https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-5-great-lakes/buildings-and-facilities/ohio-federal-buildings/cleveland-stokes-ct This court hears cases regarding Federal law. They have Index of naturalization petitions (1855-present): name, address, birthdate, naturalization date, country of origin, specific place of origin. Those who did not complete naturalization may also be included. There is a charge for copies. Some may come directly from the Cleveland court but others may come from the National Archives depending on the date of naturalization. They will bill you when they pull the copies. You pay and then they send the copies. Check Fold3 for naturalizations. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of OhioHoward M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse201 Superior Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44114 216-615-4300 https://www.ohnb.uscourts.gov/ Justice of the Peace CourtsCuyahoga County Archives holds many boxes of Justice of the Peace records. Interesting cases with in depth case information from various locations can be found there. An index is in the reading room near the microfilm cabinet. Filed by the J.P. and the location, they can be tricky to find at first, but well worth the look.Municipal CourtsMUNICIPAL COURTS have jurisdiction over traffic or parking violations, housing code citations, misdemeanor cases involving municipal ordinances and small claims cases. These cases can be a treasure trove of information, from landlord issues, property issues, city complaints, civil and criminal cases, and those interesting small claims cases too. Cleveland Municipal Court - Bedford Municipal Court - serves Bedford, Bedford Hts., Bentleyville, Chagrin FAlls, Glenwillow, Highland Hills, Moreland Hills, North Randall, Oakwood Village, Orange, Solon, Warrensville Heights, Woodmere, Chagrin Falls Twp. and the MetroParks. Berea Municipal Court - serves Berea, Brookpark, Middleburg Heights, Olmsted Falls, Olmsted Township, Strongsville and the MetroParks, as well as the Ohi State Patrol on the Ohio Turnpike and Interstates 71 and 480. Cleveland Heights Municipal Court - serves Cleveland Heights, Garfield Heights Municipal Court - serves Brecksville, Cuyahoga Heights, Garfield Heights, Independence, Maple Heights, Metro Parks, Newburgh Heights, Valley View and Walton Hills. Lakewood Municipal Court - serves Lakewood, parts of the Cleveland Metroparks, I-90, and Lake Erie waters to the Canadian Border. Lyndhurst Municipal Court - serves Lyndhurst. http://www.parmamunicourt.org/ Rocky River Municipal Court - serves Rocky River Shaker Heights Municipal Court - serves Beachwood, Hunting Valley, Pepper Pike, Shaker Heights, and University Heights. South Euclid Municipal Court - Serves South Euclid, the part of Cleveland Metroparks within South Euclid, and Notre Dame College. Cuyahoga County Probate CourtCuyahoga County Courthouse1 W. Lakeside Avenue Cleveland, OH 44113 Marriage Division - 216-443-8922 Adoption Division - 443-8988 or 443-8989 Microfilm Room - 440-443-7939 The old Courthouse on the north side of Lakeside Avenue holds the Probate Court. The Probate Court handles issuance of marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianship proceedings, involuntary commitment of the mentally ill, land appropriation, wills and estates, living trusts, and name changes. Probate Court has birth records 1859-1901 and death records 1867-1908. (also at the Cuyahoga County Archive). The Marriage License Bureau has marriage records from 1810. County Courthouse has naturalization records 1818-1906 and probate records from 1810 (there are others at the Cuyahoga County Archives). They also have estate case files for after 1913. Those before 1913 are at the Cuyahoga County Archives. INDEX OPTION 1: Here you can search the Marriage Index and recent Probate cases. INDEX OPTION 2: For an index of Probate packets, Dockets Pre-A to 70 (1826-1904), INDEX OPTION 3: "Probate Docket, 1811-1868" is another good Probate index. https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/261319?availability=Family%20History%20Library. The docket gives page numbers for the wills, and several other volumes, and a case number. This should be more inclusive than the Title Company index for Estates. INDEX OPTION 4: Cuyahoga Abstract Title and Trust Company card file, 1898-1971, mentioned at the top of this page. Many records other than estates are listed there, and it has the more recent cases available. INDEX OPTION 5: Searchable images on Ancestry to about 1912, are here. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8801/. INDEX OPTION 6: East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society did an index available at several local libraries. It includes some volumes that may not be in the probate court. IMAGES OF ESTATE PACKETSAfter you find the person in the docket book, a sort of minutes book of the court procedings, or one of the indexes, then find the probate packets for the documents which are filed according to the docket book number.
Additionally FamilySearch has some other Probate records at FamilySearch.org/ - Ohio Probate Records 1789-1996. These include:
OHIO, CUYAHOGA COUNTY, PROBATE FILES, 1813-1932 -- Finding Aid from LauraOnce you have a case number from an index, go https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1837736 to find the actual case file with images of the documents in it. Click on “Browse All 2,xxx,xxx Images,” and it takes you to a list of the dockets. Below is a list of the dockets in order and the case numbers each docket covers. Find your case number in the list and see what docket it is in, then click on that docket at the link directly above. Then click on the appropriate span of case numbers where your case number would appear. This will bring up the actual images. Page through the images until you come to the case you are interested in. There is also a “How to Use the Collection”for the Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files, 1813-1932 on the Wiki. Dockets A-P (and the A-L and M-O) were the first dockets beginning in 1813. They switched to numbered dockets beginning with Docket 17 (Q is the 17th letter in the alphabet). I did not spell out dockets A-P as they are a jumbled mess and better viewed by you. Docket files marked with a “C” or “No Docket specified” are miscellaneous files. They contain out-of-order documents from several dockets. Dockets 62, 69, 80, 87, 94, 105,110, 111, 112, 115, 120, and 125 in their entirety are not available for public use and were not imaged. They contain insanity cases, adoptions, sensitive material, which was removed before filming. The Probate Court will only release Adoption records to direct descendants. DOCKET LIST WITH CASE NUMBERS AND YEARS COVERED
|