Daily AncestorQuarter sessions
A court of quarter sessions was a county court that met four times a year, mainly to try lesser crimes, and in some places also handled roads and other local business.
The court began in England in 1388, held by justices of the peace at four set times a year. Several American states set up courts of the same name, usually with jurisdiction over offenses below felony and sometimes with charge of public roads and bridges.
In England the quarter sessions heard crimes sent up by indictment that justices could not try alone, and they lasted until 1972. In American records the name points to the county's criminal court for lesser offenses.
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Daily Ancestor. "Quarter sessions." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/quarter-sessions. Last checked 2026-10-12.