Dallas County was organized in 1846, and the district court met for the first time Monday, 7 December 1846. The minute books for the Court from its inception until March 1939 and the extant loose case file papers are available in the Texas/Dallas History Archives Division of the Dallas Public Library in its capacity as a depository for the Regional Historical Research Depository and Local Records Program (RHRD) of the Texas State Library.
In these records you will find the names of the founders of Dallas – as jurors, defendants and plaintiffs, involved in the usual disputes of life.
These records were abstracted by members of the Dallas Genealogical Society. They were published serially in the Dallas Quarterly, and later in a book, (see below).
The origin of the following text files is unknown.
- 07 Dec 1846 -12 Apr 1847 (Pages 1 – 8)
- 07 Jun 1847 – 28 Oct 1847 (Pages 9 – 36)
- 22 May 1848 – 27 May 1848 (Pages 50 – 65)
- 05 Aug 1848 – 27 Feb 1849 (Pages 66 – 101)
- 21 May 1849 – 27 Aug 1849 (Pages 102 – 139)
- 19 Nov 1849 – 26 Jan 1850 (Pages 140 – 164)
- 20 May 1850 – 23 Sep 1850(Pages 165 – 187)
- 11 Nov 1850 – 25 Feb 1851 (Pages 188 – 212)
- 12 May 1851 – 20 Aug 1851 (Pages 213 – 243)
- 10 Nov 1851 – 25 Nov 1851 (Pages 244 – 277)
- 10 May 1852 – 15 Sep 1852 (Pages 279 – 301)
- 21 Feb 1853 (Unnumbered Page)
- 09 May 1853 – 16 Sep 1853 (Pages 302 – 369)
- 07 Nov 1853 – 18 Nov 1853 (Pages 370 – 421)
- May 1954
- 11 Mar 1854 – 02 Sep 1854 (Pages 424 – 453)
- 06 Nov 1854 – 06 Mar 1855 (Pages 454 – 479)
- Officials mentioned in Minute Book A
Most of these records were originally published in The Dallas Quarterly. Publication of these articles ended in December 1994 (through Case # 368). Provided below are links to the original articles.
- The Dallas Quarterly, September 1993: 14th District Court Abstracts by Helen Mason Lu & Adrienne B. Jamieson (07 Dec 1846 – 27 May 1848, Pages 1 – 65)
- The Dallas Quarterly, December 1993: 14th District Court Abstracts by Helen Mason Lu & Adrienne B. Jamieson (05 Aug 1848 – 20 May 1859, Pages 66 – 166)
- The Dallas Quarterly, March 1994: 14th District Court Abstracts by Helen Mason Lu & Adrienne B. Jamieson (20 May 1850 – 16 Nov 1850, Pages 169 – 211)
- The Dallas Quarterly, Jun 1994: 14th District Court Abstracts by Helen Mason Lu & Adrienne B. Jamieson (25 Feb 1851 – 25 Nov 185, Pages 212 – 277)
- The Dallas Quarterly, Sep 1994: 14th District Court Abstracts by Helen Mason Lu & Adrienne B. Jamieson (01 Mar 1852 – 10 May 1853, Pages 278 – 322)
- The Dallas Quarterly, Dec 1994: 14th District Court Abstracts by Helen Mason Lu & Adrienne B. Jamieson (12 May 1853 – 21 May 1853, Pages 324 – 368)
The entire collection of records was published in the 1995 book “Dallas County, Texas Minute Book A, 1848-1855, 14th District Court Abstracts“. The manuscript of the entire book, with the exception of the Index and the list of Publications of the Dallas Genealogical Society, have survived, have been scanned and saved in a PDF document.
