Court of Claims (Land) Index

• Record series in the index:
  • NRS 917,  Register of Memorials 1-970 received by Commissioners of Claims (4 Will. IV no.9), 1833-1835, Reel 1420
  • NRS 2675, Registers of cases, 1836-1922, Reel 1249
• Entries in the index: 2950+

A note about the records

The Court of Claims was established in 1833 for two years to hear the claims of persons holding or claiming to hold lands where grants had been promised and claiming to have grants delivered to them.

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.

Once you have a case number more details may then be viewed in the registers on Reel 1420 (go past the index section). The memorials may then be located at:

• NRS 913 (Reels 1234-1235, 1201-1208)

A second Act - IV Will No. 21, 1835 - allowed the Commissioners of the Court of Claims to examine and report upon claims that had been referred to them by the Governor through the Colonial Secretary. These memorials were registered in:

• NRS 2675 (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 (Reels 1209-1226)

A joint Staff and Volunteer Project