Daily AncestorCounty court
A county court was a local court that, in many states, heard lawsuits and also handled county business such as roads, taxes and estates.
A county court is a court for a single county. In Virginia, for example, county courts from 1618 to 1902 heard minor civil and criminal cases and handled equity, probate and orphans' matters. In some other states the county court was mainly administrative, handling county business and the registration of deeds.
County court minute books are some of the richest early records. Older volumes may have no index, so read page by page around the dates you need.
As seen in a recordHeading of court minutes
At a County Court held for Halifax County, May 1785
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "County court." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/county-court. Last checked 2026-10-01.