A writ of habeas corpus is a procedure for obtaining a judicial determination of the legality of an individual's custody. This collection includes petitions for writs of habeas corpus and the writs themselves, showing the names of petitioners, persons to be brought to court, nature of dispute or alleged crime, dates of writs and accompanying documents, names of judges, and names of persons that the writs are filed against. Petitioners include indentured servants, Freedom Seekers, free persons of color, convicted prisoners, those awaiting trial, relatives of prisoners, parties in child custody disputes, and relatives of army recruits and draftees.
Lancaster County Archives has Habeas Corpus dockets:
1799-1978, ten volumes, record of writs of Habeas Corpus written.
1895-1983, 43 boxes, original petitions.
Notes
LancasterHistory is committed to preserving and providing access to materials chronicling Lancaster County's heritage. As a historical resource, this document reflects the racial prejudices and actions of the era. In order to maintain the historical integrity and context of collection items, LancasterHistory does not censor historical documents or edit language, titles, or organization names when transcribing original content.
Additional Notes
Person of color.
Petitioner: Thompson, John.
Filed against: Ehler, John. Occupation: sheriff and jailor.
Petition, includes warrant of commitment.
Commitment paper.
Habeas corpus, includes answer and decision.
3 items, 2 pieces
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment - please contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish. There is no publication fee.
Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Case Number
397.000
Classification
RG 01-00 2313
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Digitization of this document was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 202010016624, 2020-2023.
Group of young men standing and sitting in front of a large stone building. Written on back: "Mr. Hurd's class". Written along the front left side: "June 1889". John Christian Etter may be the young man standing at right. This may be his class at the Mt. Airy School, now the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
Provenance
This collection of photographs is from the estate of Esther Etter Rebman, and is mostly of the Etter, Falk and Kriegelstein families. Some of the photographs may have belonged to her aunt, Mary Etter (b. 1897, d. 1960).
Cabinet card. Woman in dark dress with beaded detail at collar. Possibly Christina Mischlich McLaughlin, sister of Elizabeth Mischlich Etter.
Provenance
This collection of photographs is from the estate of Esther Etter Rebman, and is mostly of the Etter, Falk and Kriegelstein families. Some of the photographs may have belonged to her aunt, Mary Etter (b. 1897, d. 1960).
Group of children and woman, possibly students and teacher, posed in front of a stone building.
Provenance
This collection of photographs is from the estate of Esther Etter Rebman, and is mostly of the Etter, Falk and Kriegelstein families. Some of the photographs may have belonged to her aunt, Mary Etter (b. 1897, d. 1960).
