The Indiana Digital Archives has made available new materials for researchers interested in Indiana?s heritage. The Marion County Court Records Index includes information on nearly 130,000 court records created between 1822 and 1930. The database includes case files, bonds and licenses, summonses, subpoenas, jury lists and coroner?s inquests.
This index encompasses most of the records transferred to the Indiana State Archives during the early 1960s by the Marion County Clerk. It includes the first session of the Marion County Circuit Court in 1822, the 1829 establishment of a probate court, the courts of common pleas, and the 1871 establishment of the Superior Court of Marion County.
The inclusion of the Marion County Court records into the Indiana Digital Archives creates one of the best resources for legal research and genealogy in the state,? says Jim Corridan, Indiana State Archivist.” This database brings to life the stories of thousands of Hoosiers and the legal conflicts faced by our ancestors.?
While not all of the Marion County Court documents have survived, Marion County court order books and complete record books are available at the State Archives for further research. Marion County court documents created after 1930 are not included in this database.
The Marion County Court records were indexed by Indiana State Archives volunteer Mary Etta Boren, who began working on the project in 2005. Friends of the Indiana State Archives volunteers have been hard at work for nearly two decades creating indices for many of the state’s records. From before statehood in 1816 and on through to its approaching bicentennial, Indiana has been home to millions of settlers and immigrants. The Digital Archives enables Hoosiers and people worldwide to view the vast collection of historical and vital records housed at the Indiana State Archives.
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