District 11, Montgomery County, Magistrate's Docket Book

The District 11, Montgomery County, Magistrate's Docket Book, which ranges from 1856 to 1910, is comprised of court case proceedings overseen by various magistrates operating in Montgomery County’s Eleventh District. During this time period, District 11 of Montgomery County encompassed an area that roughly coincides with the District 2 established in 2022. It included land from slightly north of Big McAdoo Creek up to the Red River, and roughly along the length of modern-day Memorial Drive. Magistrates during this period functioned primarily as arbitrators who administered civil or criminal justice over minor legal disputes in the county courts. During this period, sections 1 and 15 of Article VI in the Tennessee Constitution established that the position of Justice of the Peace must be elected according to districts for a six year term. However, the current constitution does not include section 15.

While the signatures of some magistrates may not be present, it is believed that cases from 1860 up to 1876 were presided over by Justices of the Peace P.O. Travis and W. M. Rudolph. Magistrate P.O. Travis was born around 1828 in Clarksville, Tennessee and maintained his occupation as a farmer throughout a majority of his life whilst working on the county court, primarily administering civil court cases in the Eleventh District alongside W.M. Rudolph from 1860 to 1876. W.M. Rudolph was born in 1812 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Like many other individuals working in the court system during this period, Rudolph came from an esteemed family of farmers originally from North Carolina. Both Travis and Rudolph administered civil court cases in the eleventh district, albeit independently presiding on different cases throughout several occasions.

In 1876, W.H. Crotzer assumed the role of magistrate. Born in 1828, William Henry Crotzer began as a farmer and served as a prominent member of the Montgomery County court system. According to the Leaf-Chronicle, his tenure as a member of the county court spanned twenty-eight years, beginning from 1876 to 1904. Crotzer administered civil and criminal justice in dozens of court cases, with approximately 512 cases signed off as justice of the peace. His son, George A. Crotzer (1856 – 1924), would succeed him as primary magistrate after his resignation in 1904. There are 28 cases ascribed to G.A. Crotzer. Recurring names of county officers, clerks, and judges appear continuously alongside the names of P.O. Travis, W.M. Rudolph, and the Crotzer family.