Old Court Records of Richmond County^ 



Edward C. Delavan, Jr. 



The book of ancient court records referred to by Clute on page 

 167 of his Annals of Staten Island and by the Historical Tablet 

 Committee at page 12, volume 6, of the Proceedings of the 

 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences, has been 

 found in the office of the Clerk of the County of Richmond. It 

 establishes the fact that for some eight years there was a build- 

 ing called a courthouse or county house at Stony Brook. 



The first mention of a term of court held at Stony Brook 

 occurs under the date of March 5, 1718. The first mention of a 

 courthouse is found under the date of March 7, 1721. A term 

 of the Court of Sessions was " held at Stony Brook at the Court 

 House" on March 5, 1723; it was at this term that Sheriff Ben- 

 jamin Bill's protest against the insufficiency of the jail was pre- 

 sented (Clute, 167). 



The term of the Court of Common Pleas, opened on March 

 6, 1729, appears to have been the first " held at Richmond town in 

 the County abovesaid at the Court House." 



The back of the cover of this record book bears the following 

 label :— 



Records 



of the 



Court of Sessions 



Common Pleas 



1710-1743. 



The Court of Sessions had criminal, and the Court of Common 

 Pleas civil jurisdiction. The last entry in the book is that of a 

 term of Court of Common Pleas held on March 19, 1745. 



The flyleaf shows the following title : 



1 Presented at the meeting of the Section of Historical Research Janu- 

 ary 12, 1918. 



