Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of docket books recording final decrees issued by the Vice Chancellor at the request of any party involved in a case. Revised Statutes of 1829 required the Clerks of various Chancery Circuits to maintain such a record and dictated its format.

Entries in the dockets are arranged in columns. The law required them to include the following information: name of the party against whom the decree was rendered; his county and place of residence; his title; trade or profession; the amount of damage, debt, or cash decreed; the date and time of docketing; the names of all parties involved in the case; and when (if) the decree was reversed, discharged, or vacated. Title, trade, or profession are occasionally recorded. Place of residence is occasionally omitted in the entries.