Cases
Habeas petitions described a broad range of carceral, institutional, and interpersonal confinement over the long nineteenth century, including those used to demand due process, resist enslavement, challenge child removal and reservation confinement, avoid deportation, present child custody claims and protest child marriage, and to challenge institutionalization and detention in private and state institutions. As a legal mechanism borrowed from British common law and guaranteed as a civil right in US federal and state constitutions, habeas provides a lens on a diverse community of legal actors.
Our encoding practice allows us to identify petitions in these three categories and to indicate where those categories overlap. In addition to these three general categories, our team has identified the specific carceral charge being challenged as well as the particular forms of institutional and interpersonal confinements being questioned.
You may also browse or search petitions by location and/or jurisdiction to learn more about the myriad complaints petitioners brought before judges in Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, and Washington between 1812 and 1924. Each case entry includes a full citation, a summary, links to people with a role in the case, a list of other people named, and any sites of significance. Visitors wanting access to full case files can contact the cited repository for information about obtaining copies. Those without institutional affiliations may request image scans from Dr. Jagodinsky directly. The Glossary defines the attributes used to structure data from the habeas petitions. The Code Book explains the relational structure of the data and functionality of the database website.
Featured story: The Habeas Corpus and Divorce Proceedings of Katie Mayes
Basic Search
Simply enter the word you wish to find and the search engine will search for every instance of the word in the journals. For example: Fight. All instances of the use of the word fight will show up on the results page.
Wildcard Searches
Using an asterisk (*) will increase the odds of finding the results you are seeking. For example: Fight*. The search results will display every instance of fight, fights, fighting, etc. More than one wildcard may be used. For example: *ricar*. This search will return most references to the Aricara tribe, including Ricara, Ricares, Aricaris, Ricaries, Ricaree, Ricareis, and Ricarra. Using a question mark (?) instead of an asterisk (*) will allow you to search for a single character. For example, r?n will find all instances of ran and run, but will not find rain or ruin.
Capitalization
Searches are not case sensitive. For example: george will come up with the same results as George.
Phrase Search
Searching for a specific phrase may help narrow down the results. Rather long phrases are no problem. For example: "This white pudding we all esteem".
Subsequent Searches
Because of the creative spellings used by the journalists, it may be necessary to try your search multiple times. For example: P?ro*. This search brings up numerous variant spellings of the French word pirogue, "a large dugout canoe or open boat." Searching for P?*r*og?* will bring up other variant spellings. Searching for canoe or boat also may be helpful.
Filter by:
State
- Nebraska 10
- Washington 1
Petition Subtype
- Carceral: bastardy 11
- Carceral: refusal or inability to pay fine 1
- Carceral: subornation of perjury 1
Court Name
- Douglas County District Court (Omaha Nebraska) 6
- Us District Court For The Omaha Division Of The District Of Nebraska (Omaha Nebraska) 2
- Gage County District Court (Beatrice Nebraska) 1
- King County Superior Court (Seattle Washington) 1
- Us Circuit Court For The Omaha Division Of The District Of Nebraska (Omaha Nebraska) 1
Repository
- History Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska) 6
- Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska) 5
- National Archives and Records Administration, Kansas City (Kansas City, Kansas) 3
- Gage County District Court (Beatrice, Nebraska) 1
- Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Regional Branch (Bellevue, Washington) 1
Points of Law Cited
- “An act for the support and maintenance of illegitimate children,” 1897 Statutes of Nebraska, Ch. 37, Sec. 1 1
- Cook v. Hart, 146 U.S. 183 1
- Ex parte Royal 117 U.S. 241 1
- Hulburt v. Palmer, 39 Neb. 158 1
- In re Huse, 79 Fed. 305, 25 “C.C.A.” 1 1
- New York v. Eno, 155 U.S. 96 1
- Pepke v. Cronan, 155 U.S. 101 1
- Section 6300 of Cobey's Annotated Statues of Nebraska for 1911 1
- Whitten v. Tomlinson, 160 U.S. 242 1
People
- Bennett, George A. 2
- Leeder, Ed 2
- Lewis, John (deputy) 2
- McShane, Jr., Felix J. (F. J.) 2
- Moore, Frank E. (clerk) 2
- Annette Bailey (Mother to Ernest Pipers Child) 1
- Archer, Michael (judge) 1
- Bachman, Charles M. 1
- Bacorty, H. G. (notary public) 1
- Baker, Benjamin S. 1
- Baldwin, A. E. (justice of the peace) 1
- Barnett, A.N. [deputy] 1
- Blum, Henry (notary public) 1
- Bradley, Edgar S. 1
- Brandis, Charles (justice of the peace) 1
- Bryan, William C. 1
- Burger, Joseph O. 1
- Bush, 1
- Buson, Allen J. (notary public) 1
- Carleton, Henry A. 1
- Coffey, J.A. 1
- Colby, Leonard W. (L.W. Colby) 1
- Cormody, Hester (the woman Phillips allegedly had a child with) 1
- Corson, 1
- Cox, Guy Harris 1
- Cox, Guy Harris (attorney named) 1
- Cruse, Lizzie B. (woman Davidson allegedly had a bastard child with) 1
- Davidson, Albert 1
- Davis, Herbert J. 1
- Davis, John P. 1
- Dinkens, William P. 1
- Dunlavey, Con (father of complainant) 1
- Dunlavey, Ellen (mother of complainant) 1
- Eberstein, Marshall (special agent of the U.S. Department of Justice) 1
- English, James P. 1
- Estelle, Lee S. 1
- Fahenstock, Louis (complainant) 1
- Flynn, Thomas J. (U.S. marshal) 1
- Ford, B. F. 1
- Gering, Matthew 1
- Gibson, George B. 1
- Gilbert, William O. 1
- Hascall, Vincent C. 1
- Herron, Nathaniel 1
- Holmes, M. M.(Clerk) 1
- Houseworth, George F. (clerk) 1
- Hoyt, R. C. (clerk) 1
- Humes, Thomas J. 1
- Jackson, Effie (from Arkansas, had Dinken's child) 1
- Jacobs, K. 1
- Jessen, Paul (judge) 1
- Kauffman, 1
- Keysor, William W. 1
- Kubat, Charles H. (C. H.) 1
- Kuhn, John G. 1
- Kunkel, J. A. (clerk) 1
- Laurie, Frank 1
- Lockerby, Bert 1
- Loyhed, E. H. 1
- Magney, George (county attorney) 1
- Mathews, T. L. (U.S. marshal) Walling, James (deputy U.S. marshal) 1
- McDonald, John W. 1
- McKenzie, (attorney) 1
- McKenzie, John A. 1
- McKenzie, John A. (attorney named) 1
- Miller, Joe 1
- Munger, William H. 1
- Murphy, Eileen (child of complainant) 1
- Murphy, Frances M. (complainant) 1
- Murphy, Leo (child of complainant) 1
- Murphy, Margaret (child of complainant) 1
- Murphy, Thomas (child of complainant) 1
- Murphy, Vincent (child of complainant) 1
- Murphy, William (ex-husband of complainant) 1
- Parker, Lillie (complainant) 1
- Peck, C. S. (clerk) 1
- Peck, Hiram 1
- Peterson, Careline 1
- Phillips, F. J. 1
- Piper, Ernest 1
- Pitman, Mary (boarder) 1
- Quinley, E. J. (deputy U.S. marshal) 1
- Quinton, C. D. (constable) 1
- Ransom, Frank T. 1
- Richards, 1
- Richards, David M. (notary public) 1
- Ringer, D. D. (constable) 1
- Robert Smith (Clerk) 1
- Root, Jesse L. (unspecified) 1
- Saxton, Howard 1
- Schomp, John 1
- Scott, Cunningham R. 1
- Seavey, Webber S. (W. F.) 1
- Seelling, Elmery 1
- Shafer, Peter 1
- Shriver, S. S. (justice of the peace) 1
- Simpson, Ed 1
- Snyder, Chase Randall 1
- Strum Jr., A. (deputy) 1
- Thummel, George H. (clerk) 1
11 results
Download JSON Download CSVIn the matter of the application of H.A. Carleton for writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: November 6, 1880
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the matter of the application of Bert Lockerby for a Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: September 15, 1890
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
In the matter of the application of Albert Davidson for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: April 22, 1892
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ dismissed
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the application of F. J. Phillips for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: October 17, 1892
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ dismissed
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the matter of the application of William P. Dinkens for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: December 24, 1892
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
In the matter of the application on behalf of Charles M. Bachman for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: February 6, 1896
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
In the matter of the application of John Walker for writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: September 25, 1900
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy | Carceral: subornation of perjury | Carceral: refusal or inability to pay fine
- Petition outcome: Writ dismissed
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the Matter of the Application of Ernest Piper For Writ Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: March 14, 1914
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Unknown
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
In the Matter of the Application of Allen Young for Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: January 19, 1915
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ allowed
- Fate of bound party: Released from custody
In the matter of the application of Chase Randal Snyder for a writ of habeas corpus
- Earliest record date: September 20, 1916
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Writ denied
- Fate of bound party: Remained in custody
In the Matter of the Application of Wm C. Bryan for a writ of Habeas Corpus
- Earliest record date: June 15, 1888
- Petition type(s): Carceral: bastardy
- Petition outcome: Petition withdrawn
- Fate of bound party: Unknown
