Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, General Motions, 1750-1837, and Divorce Dockets, 1800-1805 only, This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER LIBRARY: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education., Arranged chronologically by date of entry. This docket contains two separate sections, one being a record of rules, resolves and orders of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and the other, a record of divorce cases brought before that court. The section entitled General Motions (1750-1837) documents the administrative workings of the Supreme Court by listing decisions made concerning general procedures, as well as specific cases. Topics include dealing with writs of habeas corpus and certiorari; pleas by general issue; new trials in arrest of judgment; admission of attorneys; the exchange of pleas and responses; filing times for affidavits; acts of assembly pertaining to the court; the setting or court dates for the Supreme, Circuit and Nisi Prius Courts; and the deaths and appointments of Chief Justices, Associate Justices, Prothonotaries, Criers, Commissioners of Bail and Tipstaffs. Of interest is a libel case brought against Eleazer Oswald, publisher of "The Independent Gazetteer or the Chronicle of Freedom" (1782). The Divorce Docket (1800-1805) contains copies of original petitions for divorce, as well as of the Court's judgments. Information provided includes names of husband and wife; reason for filing the divorce petition (abandonment, adultery, cruelty, previous un-ended marriage, etc.); names of referees; and the nature of the final judgment.
