FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Pennsylvania/Tasks-Court 3

WikiProject Pennsylvania Progress Chart  Wiki Project Pennsylvania Tasks - Court Records: 3

Description
The purpose of this task is to add the Prothonotary information.

Instructions
1. Add the Prothonotary information by adding this template in wiki text:

2. Place this template directly under the heading Prothonotary  in the Court Records section of your county page.

3. Prothonotary information should already be located in the Repository-Courthouse section of your county page. Please verify that this content exists. Skip to step 9 if the Prothonotary information is complete. If it is missing follow steps 4-10 to complete the task.

4. If the Prothonotary information is missing from your courthouse section, please locate and add that information as follows:

5. Locate the county government website.


 * a.http://www.pacounties.org/PAsCounties/Pages/CountyWebSites.aspx provides links to Pennsylvania County websites. Or Google the county name with the word government.


 * b. Prothonotary information may be found under
 * 1. County services
 * 2. County Prothonotary Court records
 * 3. Elected Officials
 * 4. Genealogy

6. While in wikitext add the following information if it is available:


 * Prothonotary
 * Address
 * Phone number
 * Email

Put a  between each item and it will send the information to a new line.

7. If the Prothonotary address is the same as the courthouse, you may just add the information which is unique to the Prothonotary.

8. If you copy a link and add it to the county page, make sure the link works. Do not add any broken links.

9. If you need to use a dash, be sure to use the N–dash. This is done by holding the Alt key and typing 0150.

10. Verify that the link to Courthouse within the template is working for your county. If it is not and you need help fixing this link, contact Lisa.

10. Your task is complete.

Prothonotary
The office of the Prothontary is the custodian of all civil matters in the county. This includes naturalization, immigration, equity actions, judgements, federal and local tax leins, city liens, family court, arbitrations, license suspension appeals, appeals to higher court, commercial code filings, applications for passports and divorce proceedings. See the Courthouse section on this page for the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania County Prothonotary office information.

The Prothonotary is the keeper/clerk of the records of the Court of Common Pleas civil division.

Courthouse
Prothonotary 1st Floor Phone: 724-852-5288 or 724-852-5289

Court of Common Pleas
Green County, Pennsylvania court records are housed at the Green County, Pennsylvania Courthouse. For many counties copies of court records may be found at the Pennsylvania State Archives and in the FamilySearch collection. Note that within these collections some films may contain the same records, but have different titles. Other titles are not duplicates. See Finding Court Records at other repositories within this section for links to the online catalogs for these two collections. Films at the Pennsylvania State Archives are not available for inter-library loan. If court records are available FamilySearch films may be ordered at a local Family History Center.

Clerk of the Court
The Clerk of Court prepares and maintains the records for the Criminal Division of the Court of Common Pleas. The Clerk signs and affixes the Seal of the Courts to all writs and processes, administers oaths and affirmations, and assumes custody of the seal and records of the Court. The Clerk certifies and distributes orders of the Court. The Clerk also certifies and prepares bills of costs for the defendants and utilizes the computerized financial management system to disburse fines, costs and restitution. For the Green County, Pennsylvania Clerk of Court address see the Courthouse section on this page.

The Clerk of Court's Office encompasses the criminal, juvenile and orphans’ divisions of the Court of Common Pleas.

Prothonotary
The office of the Prothontary is the custodian of all civil matters in the county. This includes naturalization, immigration, equity actions, judgements, federal and local tax leins, city liens, family court, arbitrations, license suspension appeals, appeals to higher court, commercial code filings, applications for passports and divorce proceedings. See the Courthouse section on this page for the Green County, Pennsylvania County Prothonotary office information.

The Prothonotary is the keeper/clerk of the records of the Court of Common Pleas civil division.

Orphans' Court
See Vital Records The Orphans' Court is responsible for a wide range of matters. The name of the Court is derived from the more general definition of "orphan," that being a person or thing that is without protective affiliation or sponsorship. This would include those not capable of handling their own affairs, minors, incapacitated persons, decedents estates, nonprofit corporations and trusts. It is the role of the Court to ensure that the best interests of the person or entity are not compromised.

It is believed the name of this court was borrowed from the Court of Orphans of the city of London, England which had the care and guardianship of children of deceased citizens, in their minority.

For Green County, Pennsylvania Orphans' Court contact information see the Courthouse section on this page.

Finding Court Records at Other Repositories Additional court records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Green County, Pennsylvania Court Records in online catalogs like:


 * Historical Society of Pennsylvania
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
 * Do a Green County, Pennsylvania Place-name search for these and other records in the Family History Library Catalog. (For instructions see FHL Catalog Place-name Search).

Example of Completed Courthouse Section
Greene County Courthouse 10 East High Street Waynesburg, PA 15370 Phone: 724-852-5280

Clerk of Court/ Orphan’s Court: 1st Floor Phone: 724-852-5281 or 724-852-5282

Prothonotary 1st Floor Phone: 724-852-5288 or 724-852-5289