Blank County Court Documents for District Use

This collection consists of a docket book that belonged to James H. Achey (aar·chr·ee). He served as magistrate of District 5 from 1878 through 1900 in Port Royal, TN. As a magistrate, Achey presided over minor civil law suits between citizens of District 5. This docket book documents the civil cases that he heard from October 14, 1882 through December 21, 1895. The docket book also includes a small number of criminal case proceedings presided over by Achey from May 24, 1887 through November 8, 1895. Although Achey referred some of these cases to criminal court, in many cases he levied fines and court costs against the defendants if he determined that they were guilty.

Although few of the cases recorded include an account of the particular circumstances, many of them appear to be connected to estate settlements. In some instances the judgements give financial accounts of tobacco crop transactions between citizens of District 5 of Montgomery County, Tennessee. The portion of the book that contains criminal cases reveals charges, fines and referral to higher court systems. There are small gaps in the record due to missing pages. This book contains some well-known familial names in the history of Montgomery County Tennessee, such as Northington, Moody and Rosson. Researchers interested in financial, mortgage and legal records will find this document useful.