Court of Claims relating to Land, 1833-35
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About the index
The index has been compiled by Christine Shergold, Manager of Special Projects and checked by the State Records Volunteers, from the following volume:
NRS 917, Register of memorials 1-970 (Act of 1833), 20 Dec 1833-15 April 1835, [X13], Reel 1420
The index records: date of memorial, name of applicant, address, occupation, name of first possessor of land and case number.
Accessing the records
Microfilm copies of the records can be viewed in our reading room. Copies are not available from this Index.
The Court of Claims
By 1831 many people had been promised grants of land but were not in possession of the titles because title was not issued until the grant had been surveyed. In other cases the land was already in the possession of other claimaints. As a result it became impossible to produce legal titles recognised by the Supreme Court.
A Court of Claims was established by the passing of Act - IV Will No. 9, 1833 - to hear the claims from all persons holding, or claiming to hold lands, where grants had been promised and claiming to have grants.
How claims were made
Persons with claims on land applied to the Court of Claims in the form of a memorial or written letter, setting out a description of the land in question, and the circumstances relating to the claim. The memorial was accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of all witnesses to the claim, and any other supporting evidence. Upon receipt these memorials were registered in:
NRS 917, Register of memorials 1-970 (Act of 1833), 20 Dec 1833-15 April 1835, [X13], Reel 1420
This volume is the online index.
Once you have a case number more details of the case may then be viewed in the registers on Reel 1420 (past the index section). The memorials may then be located at:
NRS 913, Memorials forwarded by the Commissioner of Claims, 1832-1842, [2/1777-1842A], Reels 1234-1235, 1201-1208
NRS 2675, Register of cases, Nos 1-1549 (Act of 1835), 1836-1922, [2/2369-2371 part], Reel 1249
Once you have a case number more details of the case may then be viewed in the registers on Reel 1249 (past the index section). The cases may then be located at:
NRS 914, Reports of Commissioner of Claims, 1835-1855, [2/1752-1775], Reel 1209-1226
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