Elbert County, Georgia, Superior Court Minutes: December 31, 1790-October 16, 1800

On December 10, 1790, the Georgia General Assembly created Elbert County, from a portion of Wilkes County, making Elberton the seat of its new government. In 1777, Georgia's first constitution established the Superior Court of final jurisdiction in each county. The legislature divided the state into judicial districts, fixing the times the various courts met in each county, assigning the new Elbert County to the Western District, comprised of Franklin, Green, Hancock, Jackson, Lincoln, Oglethorpe, and Wilkes counties. The judges, elected to serve three-year terms, held court in each county at least twice per year, as they traveled from county to county within their district. The Superior Court had jurisdiction over all criminal matters, civil cases involving title to land, appeals from Inferior Court decisions, divorces, grand juries, and registration of land deeds. The first volume of Superior Court Minutes begins December 31, 1790 and continues through October 16, 1800. The following transcription comes from the microfilm photographed at the courthouse at Elberton in 1960, by the Genealogical Society of Salt Lake City, Utah, and available at the Georgia Department of Archives and History in Morrow, Georgia and the Family History Library.