This book contains information from the dockets or the bound books related to court proceedings. They were maintained by the Clerks of court to help them find when cases were heard in the minutes, record key documents, discover who was liable to appear in court and when, follow up on judgments, and track the sums in fines and fees owed the court and its officials, as well as how they're to be paid. These trial dockets provide a term-by-term roster of every criminal case considered by the Guilford County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions.
The names are key. That is because they help strengthen our sense of the persons with whom our ancestors were associating. Who were their co-defendants in cases where more than one person was charged? Who secured their appearances in court and therefore took a personal risk on their behalf? Who was present when they sustained injuries or allegedly dealt them to others? Who secured their warrants of the peace (a promise not to cause further injury to the prosecutor and thepublic at large) or helped them get out of jail until costs were paid? Who were they in conflict with, and were there patterns to that conflict over time? All of these questions can be answered using the state dockets alone.