Series Information

BALTIMORE COUNTY
COURT
(Equity Papers)
1815-1851
C295
Series Description
Original papers filed in equity proceedings. Originally titled chancery papers. Documents include bills of complaint, petitions, answers, testimony, trustees reports, exhibits, and plats. The files are arranged chronologically by the dates the cases were instituted. Access available in electronic form, derived from a database for each case file and posted on the Archives' web site. Index available at Baltimore County & Baltimore City Equity Papers, Index

The description for each case includes case number, date the case began, names of the parties, subject matter of the case, and, if applicable, names of tracts, and the existence of plats. The case number consists of a number prefaced by the letter C, which may mean both chancery and commission. Each such number usually encompassed multiple cases because it actually referred to a drawer in which all files received the same designation. The numbering system apparently was imposed after the fact since the lowest numbers appear on the latest cases. The types of equity cases varied considerably. The most common were mortgage foreclosures on land, homes, slaves, factories, taverns, inns, mills, quarries, slaughterhouses, retail operations, museums, ships, and churches. Another large category pertained to estates of deceased persons, usually involving land. Other assets could include slaves, blacksmith shops, breweries, mills, quarries, inns, factories, ships, retail stores, and Antietam Iron Works. Divorce cases became increasingly common after the local courts obtained the power to dissolve marriages in 1842. Trust estate cases involved the administration of trusts established for individuals or for businesses in financial straits. Most bankruptcies and disputes over the dissolution of companies and partnerships were handled as equity matters. Some of the more prominent firms included the Bank of Maryland, Warren Manufacturing Co., Baltimore Hotel, Maryland & Virginia Steamboat Co., Baltimore Shot Tower Co., Canton Iron Works, Maryland Savings, Institution, and Eastern Shore Steamboat. Equity proceedings were used to resolve many contract disputes over such matters as sales of real estate, personal property, or businesses; construction of buildings; damage claims resulting from the War of 1812; business operations; or cattle supplied to the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Some petitioners wanted injunctions to prevent or stop an action such as execution of judgment, obstruction of streets or mill races, operation of a printing press or ten pin alley, and establishment of a paint factory. Many cases are recorded in (Chancery Record) in series C169 and C296, which can be ascertained only from the (Chancery Docket) in series C166 and C293. One case concerning the estate of Charles Carroll of Carrollton has been filmed, as found in series CM1151. The state Chancery Court heard almost all equity cases until 1815 when the county courts in Maryland were given concurrent jurisdiction. The Constitution of 1851 abolished the state Chancery Court and for Baltimore City assigned equity matters to the newly created Superior Court. In 1853 the General Assembly created the Circuit Court to handle equity cases concurrently with the Superior Court. The Constitution of 1867 removed this duty from the Superior Court and gave it exclusively to the Circuit Court. Case files of the state Chancery Court are found in (Chancery Papers) in S512. The chancery files encompass 6340 cases, housed in approximately 12,536 folders, each containing an average of 30 pages of text and plats. Approximately one fourth of the documents will require conservation work.

Some records from this series became alienated from court custody, and are found in Special Collection 5777 (Nagengast Collection)