Whatcom County was established in 1854 from the northeastern portion of Island County. It originally included the area which now comprises Skagit County. District Court was established in 1877 with sessions held at La Conner. When La Conner became part of Skagit County in 1883, court sessions for Whatcom County were held in the town of Whatcom (now Bellingham).
Territorial court records from San Juan County include Probate, Civil and Criminal cases.
The earliest Court case files from Whatcom County remained with the Skagit County District Court.
Probate Court should have been established in 1854 when Whatcom County was created, but the earliest Probate records which could be located date from 1872. The hard copy of these records has been destroyed, so they only exist on microfilm.
Arranged into series by court of jurisdiction; described herein according to each case type.
Also available on microfilm.
None.
In-house only.
[Document cited], Whatcom County Territorial [type of case and case #], Washington State Archives Northwest Regional Branch.
The files were created in Territorial Probate, District, or Justice Court and remained in the custody of the County Clerk until transfer to the State Archives.
The material was accessioned into the Archives in 1989.
No further additions are expected.
[ARCHREF LINK TO PARENT FINDING AID]
Additional court records such as courtroom journals may also be available. Inquire with repository for details.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
The Probate Court had jurisdiction over the probate of estates and wills, the appointment of guardians, adoptions, insanity hearings and commitments, and hearing regarding habitual drunkards. In many cases the probate of an estate continued for several years, so some of the probate case files occupy several file folders.
The first document filed in the probate of an estate is the request for Letters of Administration or Letters of Testamentary. If the individual did not leave a will, there is often an inventory and appraisal of all personal and real property in the estate. These inventories are often very detailed. Other documents found in the case file may include bills submitted against the estate, receipts for payment, reports on sale of personal and real property by the administrator of the estate, correspondence, and final distribution of the estate.
Insanity cases begin with the filing of a complaint regarding an individual’s erratic behavior. The Probate judge would issue a warrant for the individual to appear in court and be examined by a physician. If a physician certified that the individual was insane, an order for commitment to the Hospital for the Insane was generally issued. By the 1870’s, most insanity cases contained a pre-printed Physician’s Certificate which asked specific questions about the individual’s background and actions. If the individual owned property, a guardian was assigned to handle their affairs. The property was inventoried and often sold in order to pay for the cost of maintaining the individual in the Hospital for the Insane. Invoices for expenses and correspondence with the Hospital are often found in the case file.
Adoption cases include documents such as the petition of the adoptive parents, approval of the birth parents or guardian, a request to change the name of the adopted child and the approval of the court for the adoption.
In a Civil case, the first document filed is the complaint. It states, in the first or second paragraph, the complaint or cause of action in the case. Near the end of the document, the plaintiff asks for compensation. There may then be an answer to the complaint by the defendant and the plaintiff’s reply. A variety of legal documents may be in the file including motions, subpoenas, notices, Clerks costs. The document which states the outcome of the case is the judgment.
Petition for
Petition for
The first document filed in Criminal cases is often a complaint in Justice Court. That complaint is then turned over to the Grand Jury for its review, and an indictment is issued. The indictment states the charge and the circumstances under which it was allegedly committed. The Grand Jury finds either "A True Bill", which means there is enough evidence to set the case for trial or "Not A True Bill" which means there is not enough evidence to go to trial and the case is dismissed. The case file may contain several other legal documents such as arrest warrants, subpoenas, motions by the attorneys, demurrers, affidavits, bonds, executions, and verdicts. The verdict is often written on a half sheet of paper and signed by the foreman of the jury.
Equity cases, also referred to as
A variety of miscellaneous documents were filed with the District Court, including naturalization documents, applications for admission to the bar, appointments and bonds of officials. Included herein may also be listed case files of unknown type that are missing.