Cass County, N.D. Guardianship Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 337

Staff Only

Scope and content

The Cass County Court Guardianship Records span from circa 1926 into the 1950s. Files include applications, appointments, bonds, confirmation reports, guardian financial accounts, letters of guardianship, oaths, and petitions. Files pertain to the guardianship of minors, incompetents, and insane individuals. The original printed indexes are retained at the Cass County Clerk of Court office; no copy is available with the collection.

The order of the Guardianship Files Series has been retained as established by the Cass County Clerk of Court. The original numerical filing system was retained, which consists of the PH number followed by the actual case number. PH is the abbreviation for “pigeon hole” which was the number assigned to the drawer compartments in the clerk of court office in which the case was filed. The case number is a sequential number. The PH-Case File numbers generally are in chronological sequence.

The Guardianship ‘Diaries’ Series consists of two ledgers that serve as partial index to the guardianship cases administered by the Cass County Court. They are labeled ‘2’ and ‘3’. Assuming there was a volume 1, it is not part of the collection. The volumes overlap in the time period covered. Volume 2 dates roughly from 1916 to 1974, while volume 3 records a case from 1927, but others date from the 1940s to 1982, thus they go well beyond the cut-off year of the case files in this collection. The data included is case file number, person’s name, title, guardian’s name, attorney, letters of guardianship date, inventory date, reports and accounts, and letters of citation. Some of the entries were ‘X’d out, which likely means the case file is closed.

Dates

ca. 1926-1950s

Creator

Cass County (N.D.). County Court. (Organization)

Access

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

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with the State of North Dakota.

History

North Dakota Guardianship laws and procedures were established by Legislative authority early in the state’s history and administered by the Judicial Branch of government. Current and historical development of pertinent law can be found in the past and current North Dakota Century Code, Chapter 28 – Judicial Procedure, Civil Rules of Court, Section 3, titled ‘Guardians Ad Litem’. Laws