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 In order to maintain the historical integrity and context of collection items, LancasterHistory does not censor historical documents or edit language, titles, or organization names when transcribing original content.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
Charged with making a threat to harm a man.
Or Green, Henry.
Person of color.
Petitioner: Green, Charles H.
Filed against: Burkholder, D. K. Occupation: prisonkeeper.
Petition.
Habeas corpus.
Return, includes warrant of commitment and decision.
3 items, 2 pieces
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment - 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
568.000
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.
Signers of petition: Dieterick Heiss, John Fisher, Daniel Fetter, John Manner, Jacob Zanck, Adam Wilhelm, Peter Rouse, James Burk, Jacob Krug, Valentine Houg, Conrad Graff, Matthias Slough, Paul Zantzinger, Charles Heinetsh, George Graff, Barnard Hubley, P. Hoofnagle, John Shwench, Conread Ferree, and several others.
1 item, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Signers of petition: George Hoofnagel, Lodwick Stone, Jonas Metzger, John Flieger, John Blathenberger, Andrew Heiss, George Musser, Conrad Swartz, Adam Reigart, John Witmer Jr., John Offner, Jacob Graeff, John Hambright, Abraham Scott, and two others.
1 item, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
Signers of petition: Christian Neaff, Samuel Boyd, John Jones, Melchor Snyder, Christopher Marshall, Edward Shippen, J. Mosher, Robert Thornbrush, and one other.
1 item, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at Reference Desk; photocopy made by staff member.
