Cass County, N.D. Trust Case Files, 1917-1942

Collection

Identifier: Mss 405

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The Cass County Trust Case Files span from a case started in 1917, to a case started in 1942, and ending 1969. The files are part of the Cass County Civil Court case files, but were likely stored separately due to their size, thus this collection is not a complete set of Trust files produced by the court. Researchers searching for trusts should consult the indexes of the Cass County Civil Court Case files held in the archive’s collections. The Archives hold the Cass County Civil Court Cases from the 1870s to 1965 (Mss 339, and Mss 404). All court case files after 1965 are still with the courthouse.

The Trust files are organized by case number assigned by the court. A large number of the trusts appear to be part of a larger case involving the dissolution of the Northern and Dakota Trust Company in January 1938. A sub-series of client files related to the Northern and Dakota Trust Company are filed in their original order. Two large Northern and Dakota Trust ledgers are shelved with Cass County District Court ledger collection, and are likely a part of this trust case.

Dates

1917-1969

Creator

North Dakota. District Court (Cass County) (Organization)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection is held by the State of North Dakota

History

The North Dakota Constitution of 1889 created a system of district courts to serve as courts of original jurisdiction below the Supreme Court. It prescribed the numbers and sizes of the original districts, as well as providing for judges and their terms of office. District Three was created in 1889, to include Cass, Steele and Traill counties. Presiding judges included William B. McConnell 1889-1896, Charles A. Pollock 1897-1916, and Albert T. Cole 1917-1919.

In 1909 the North Dakota Legislature enacted a law providing that district court judges should hence forth be elected on a no-party ballot. This measure became effective with the 1910 election. (1909 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 82, §1). The 1919 Legislature reorganized the district court system, reducing the number of districts to six, but for the first time establishing multi-judge districts. Additional judges were added in 1919, 1955, and 1967. District One, created in 1919 included Nelson, Grand Forks, Griggs, Steele, Barnes, Traill, and Cass counties. Three judges were assigned initially and two additional judges were added in 1967.

In 1979 the Supreme Court directed a complete reorganization of the district court system. The state was divided into seven districts identified in terms of their geographic locations. Cass County became part of the East Central Judicial District, together with Steele and Traill counties. The 1991 North Dakota Legislature unified the trial courts by abolishing the county courts and combining their functions into the district court.

Extent

6 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Cass County Trust Case Files span from a case started in 1917, to a case started in 1942, which spanned into 1969. The files are part of the Cass County Civil Court case files, but were likely stored separately due to their size.