Skip to main content

Preston J. McCreary Ledger

 Collection
Identifier: A-4160

Scope and Contents

This collection is composed of 0.25 cubic feet and consists of one justice ledger from Preston J. McCreary that ranges from 1837-1850.

Dates

  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1837-1850

Biographical / Historical

A Justice Ledger is similar to a Justice Docket, it is an official court record book which lists all the cases before the court and which may also note the status/results of the case. This ledger records cases from 1837-1850 and the owner of the ledger is a Preston J. McCreary (1805-1885), who was a justice of peace in Prairie Ronde Township, Kalamazoo Michigan. We can infer that this is a personal ledger since most of the cases in ledger appear to be listed in an informal matter.

One of the most common names that appear in the ledger is that of Preston J. McCreary (1805-1885) who was a Justice of Peace (Judge) during the time these cases were recorded. Based on the title of Justice of Peace this would be from a Municipal or District Court. The most notable aspect about the ledger is that the majority of the cases end in in either execution or stays of execution.

Extent

0.25 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Physical Description

This collection is composed of one justice ledger from Preston J. McCreary that ranges from 1837-1850. The ledger consist of 400 pages and overall the ledger is in good condition, the pages show minimal tearing and fading, however there is some staining on the pages. The pages are written in ink and are still legible. The cover is worn.

The cover of the ledger is hardbound leather and is in good shape, the pages are still connected to the spine, and there is some slight staining on the cover. The dimensions of the ledger are 8”x13”. The spine of the ledger had the title, Ledger. The ledger is written in ink. This ledger appears to be a personal ledger kept by Justice of Peace Preston J. McCreary who was the justice on the majority of these cases. The ledger appears to be written in an informal manner with each pages consisting of parties involved in the case, the description of the case, the result of the case (the majority of the cases ended in execution or stay of execution,) and any fines/fees that needed to be paid.

Notes

This collection was purchased with funds from the Starring Foundation.

Title
Preston J. McCreary Ledger Finding Aid
Status
Completed
Author
Ian Daly
Date
1837-1850
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490