Rhode Island Court Records


Rhode Island Court Records

Major Rhode Island courts that kept records of genealogical value were as follows:

  • 1647 - 1729 General Court was a statewide court with jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. In 1671 it became the General Court of Trials.

  • 1730 - present Courts of common pleas were established in each county in 1730. They had jurisdiction over most local criminal and civil matters.

  • 1729 - present Superior Court of Judicature replaced the General Court of Trials. After 1747 several superior courts of judicature were established as countywide courts.

  • 1798 - present Supreme Judicial Court was created from the Superior Court of Judicature. This court became the Supreme Court in 1843. Many of these records are at the Providence College Archives, Phillips Memorial Library, River Avenue and Eaton Street, Providence, RI 02918.

  • 1790's - present District courts have countywide jurisdiction over minor criminal cases.

Rhode Island court records for 1636 to 1670 were published with every-name indexes in John R. Bartlett, Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England, 10 vols.

Check out the following website to read about and share experiences from courthouse research.
http://www.bcpl.net/%7Edmg/courthouse.htm#Rhode Island
"The Goodman Clearinghouse:
Experiences In Researching in Court Houses"

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