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Rhode Island County Court, Probate, Tax and Other Miscellaneous Records
Rhode Island Census Records • Rhode Island Vital Records • Rhode Island Court Records
Rhode Island Church Records • Rhode Island Cemetery Records • Rhode Island Land Records
Rhode Island Military Records • Rhode Island Archives & Societies • Rhode Island Publications
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See Also Researching Court Records, Researching Probate Records, Research In Immigration & Naturalization Records and 
Researching Tax Records
On-Site County Court Records Search - Find nearly any Rhode Island court record online! Many court records are not digitized yet, which signifies the only way to obtain these records is by visiting the actual Pennsylvania courthouses. Someone from our network of court-runners will go retrieve the records and then send you the outcomes. Average response time is 38 hours. Rhode Island Civil Records include Lawsuits, Bankruptcies, Liens and judgments, Marriage/divorce judicial proceeding, Child custody, Civil rights violations ands Other. Rhode Island Criminal Records include Violent offenses, Theft and robbery, DUI/DWI's, Drugs and alcohol, Sexual crimes, Some traffic violations, Behavioral.
Definitions of Common Court Terms
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Rhode Island Court Records
See Also Research In State Court Records
Courts kept the only countywide records in Rhode Island, and that has been the case since the inception of counties in 1729. Previous to that the general court of trials existed for the entire state along with several lower courts. All the colonial court records from colonial and state courts from 1645-1900 are located at the Rhode Island Superior Court Judicial Records Center, 1 Hill Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860. Beginning in 1729 with the formation of counties, a superior court of judicature (criminal) and inferior court of common pleas (civil) as well as a supreme court were established, similar to those in Massachusetts. Debts, divorces, and trespass claims are found within the court records for each county.
- Submit a website for Rhode Island Court Records
- Rhode Island Court Books at Amazon.com
- Research In State Court Records
- Colonial Courts and Their Records
- State Courts and Their Records
- Federal Courts and Their Records
- Court and Legal Records
- Contents of Court Records
- Published Court Records
- Court, Land, Wills & Financial - Court records are an often overlooked, yet very valuable tool for finding information to assist you in your research. Land records, such as deeds, allow you to tie an ancestor to a specific place at a point in time. Other court records like those dealing with finances and estates often list related family members or give interesting details like the total value of property owned by your ancestors to add interest to your family history.
- Search County Court Records
- Search County Criminal Records with a Criminal Background Check
- Search for Registered Sex Offenders in your local Area
Rhode Island Probate Records
See Also Research In State Probate Records
Unlike any other state in New England, from colonial times probate functions have been organized by town, not county or separate probate district. The town council, in addition to its normal function, handled probate matters in Rhode Island. Wills were accepted and challenged, executors authorized, administrators appointed, inventories ordered, and estates distributed, although the town council book, probate book, or will book differed from town to town. It was not until much later that a certain uniformity began to take hold in the recording procedures, dividing town functions into separate books instead of locating them on whatever blank parchment space was available in the office or home of a council member.
- Submit a website for Rhode Island Probate Records
- Research In Probate Records - from The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy.
- How to Locate Printed Probate Records
- Advantages of Printed Probate Records
- Limitations of Printed Probate Records
- Rhode Island Probate Books at Amazon.com
Rhode Island Immigration & Naturalization Records
See Also Research In State Immigration & Naturalization Records
Newport, Bristol and, to a lesser extent, Providence, were ports of entry for the slave trade in the colony's early history and the choice for later immigrants. Immigration records are held by the National Archives and available regionally at the National Archives-New England Region.
U.S. Customs Service passenger records for the ports of Providence (1820-67), Newport (1820-57), and Bristol and Warren (1820-71) are included in NARA microfilm publication M575 and are held regionally at the National Archives-New England Region. Index to Passengers Arriving at Providence, R.I., June 18, 1911-October 5, 1954 (NARA microfilm publication T518) as well as the passenger lists to 1943 are available on microfilm at the National Archives.
Naturalizations granted (1842-1904) by the Federal District Court at Providence are included in the soundex cards for all of New England (1790-1906) held at the National Archives-New England Region.
Since naturalizations were also granted by other courts, both at the county and state level, they can be hard to find. Court records previously at the Providence College Library have been moved to the superior court at the Rhode Island Superior Court Judicial Records Center, 1 Hill Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860. Both the Records Center and the State Archives have a personal name index to these records from 1793-1900 on microfilm.
- Submit a website for Rhode Island Immigration Records
- Immigration & Emigration - As our ancestors moved from one country to another, details about their lives were recorded on passenger lists and government documents. Immigration and emigration records can help you learn where your ancestors originally came from, where they went, when they left, who they traveled with, and more.
Rhode Island Tax Records
See Also Researching in Tax Records
Tax records pre-date the Revolution and may be found at the town clerk’s office, Rhode Island State Archives, or the Rhode Island Historical Society. The clerk’s office usually has an inventory of tax list holdings. No other attempt has been made to catalog or inventory tax records, though when they exist on a year-by-year basis, they provide good evidence for the social status of a family and its presence in a town when no land is owned.
