Daily AncestorDecree
A decree is the final order of a court of equity, chancery or probate, settling the rights of the parties; it is the equity court's version of a judgment.
Courts of law gave judgments; courts of equity, admiralty, divorce and probate made decrees. A decree is final, while an order made along the way is interlocutory. A decree of distribution is a probate court's final order dividing an estate.
Chancery decrees in partition, estate and divorce suits often list all the heirs or spouses with their shares, so they are worth finding even when the case papers are lost.
As seen in a recordChancery court decree, 1800s
It is therefore adjudged, ordered and decreed that the land be sold and the proceeds divided among the heirs of Reuben Dowd
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Daily Ancestor. "Decree." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/decree. Last checked 2026-10-12.