Minutes : 1815-1872.

            Kings County was one of the original eight counties which were formed when New Brunswick was set off as a separate jurisdiction from Nova Scotia in 1784.   The county was divided into the parishes of Westfield, Sussex, Springfield and Kingston in 1786.   As the population grew, additional parishes were created through the subdivision of older parishes.
            

            The Minutes of the Court of General Sessions are a detailed record of the proceedings of the Court as it dealt with both the criminal and civil affairs of the county. The names of the presiding judges and the list of persons proclaimed as Grand Jurors are included in the Minutes of each session. The records contain the indictment, the evidence, and the decisions for each case that came before the Court.   
In civil matters, the Minutes record the appointment of all parish officers and members of school committees;  petitions from individuals and groups;  a record of payments by the Court to individuals for services rendered to the county;  statements from the county treasurer;  assessments levied to carry on the work of the Overseers of the Poor;  a record of the schools operating in each parish with the teacher's name and the number of students;  a list, issued yearly, of retailers and tavern keepers who were licensed by the Court;  regulations;  orders;  and many other issues of concern to the Court. 
The first half, or more, of Reel 1, contains two volumes of King's County Road Commissioners' Books.   The Books are dated as follows: Volume 1, 1815-1840, and Volume 2, 1840-1924.
This material is followed by Volume 1, 1815-1821, and Volume 2, 1822-1829, of the Minutes of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace.
 Reel 2 continues the Minutes of the Court with Volume 3, 1829-1847, and Volume 4, 1847-1872.            

            Formatted transcription of Minutes from 1819 to 1855 available in six parts as PDF files in the electronic finding aids section. 

Volume 4 of the Court Minutes is followed by two partial subject indexes.  The references in the first Index relate to Volumes 1-3 and refer to the year in which the information can be found.   The Index to Volume 4 refers to the page number of the volume.

Related finding aids for those interested in Kings County:

Kings County Deeds Index - covering 1764-1951; electronic cd. Ask staff for access.
Kings County Probate Records - covering 1784-1949; electronic cd. Ask staff for access.