The seal of Washington Territory.
Douglas County was created in 1883 from the western portion of Lincoln County. It remained attached to Lincoln County for judicial purposes until 1888. In that year District Court was established with sessions held in Waterville. It was assigned to the Fourth Judicial District. District Court case files are available on microfilm only.
Probate Court records should date from1883, but only cases from 1889 have been located. These are available on microfilm only.
Territorial court records from Columbia County include Probate and Civil cases.
Arranged into series by court of jurisdiction; described herein according to each case type.
Also available on microfilm.
None.
In-house only.
[Document cited], Douglas County Territorial [type of case and case #], Washington State Archives Central 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.