Nye County, Nevada, Court Documents

The documents in this collection relate to the Nye County District and Justice Courts between the years of 1865 and 1890. They are organized into four content-based groupings: Bonds and Oaths, Criminal Court Documents, Correspondence, and Ephemera. The contents grouped as Bonds and Oaths cover the swearing-in of Nye County servants, often Justices of the Peace and once a Road Overseer, and are organized chronologically (see folders 1-5). Within the Criminal Court Documents, grouped together are multiple documents related to the same defendant; this group makes up the majority of the collection (see folders 14-44). The grouped documents have been organized alphabetically by the last name of the defendant, and are then sorted chronologically. The criminal court documents that are not part of a group (i.e., are single references to unrelated cases) have been organized chronologically (see folders 6-13). The group of Criminal Court Documents ranges from court summons, to sworn testimony of witnesses, to instructions for the jury, settlements and verdicts. The crimes alleged include: rape, burglary, embezzlement, libel, illegal gaming (gambling), and assault with deadly intent. Unfortunately, even when there are multiple documents relating to one criminal defendant, there is not enough information to construct a beginning-to-end (or accusation-to-verdict) narrative of any of the cases. The documents are recommended, however, to researchers interested in the social history of the American West, conflict in mining boom towns, or early branches of United States government in the West. The documents grouped as Correspondence include four letters, one of which is written in Italian (see folders 45-48). The Ephemera group consists of one receipt for purchases made at a livery and seed store.