Sample Sidebar Module

This is a sample module published to the sidebar_top position, using the -sidebar module class suffix. There is also a sidebar_bottom position below the menu.

Sample Sidebar Module

This is a sample module published to the sidebar_bottom position, using the -sidebar module class suffix. There is also a sidebar_top position below the search.
Research Assistance

Article Index

Court System:  Chancery Court

The chancery courts are the traditional trial level equity courts in Tennessee. Equity law deals with matters not traditionally addressed by the common law (case law) of the law courts or the statutory law. Equity acts when a traditional law court remedy is not adequate to reach a just result. In Tennessee, chancery courts have exclusive jurisdiction over some matters that are traditionally considered to be equity cases, but the statutory law has given chancery courts concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts over most civil cases.

Jefferson County, under the provisions of §16-2-506 of Tennessee Code Annotated, is part of the 4th judicial district. The general law on chancery courts is found in title 16, chapter 11 of Tennessee Code Annotated, and title 17 applies to judges and chancellors.

The following acts form an outline of the development of equity jurisdiction in Jefferson County, although they no longer have the force of law since they have either been superseded by general law, repealed, or failed to receive local ratification. Also referenced below are acts which repeal prior law without providing new substantive provisions.

  1. Territorial Ordinance of March 13, 1793, signed by William Blount, Governor, in and over the Territory of the United States lying south of the Ohio River, ordained that the counties of Jefferson and Knox would constitute the Judicial District of Hamilton in which would be held two Superior Courts of Law and the Courts of Equity each year in Knoxville, beginning on the second Monday in April and October and continuing for ten days unless the business of the Court was cleared sooner, each County appointing 18 jurors to attend the Court during each term.
  2. Acts of 1794, Chapter 1, gave the Superior Court of Law jurisdiction over all appeals from an inferior Court, other specified original jurisdiction over certain civil matters, original jurisdiction over equity matters and all prosecutions by the government.
  3. Acts of 1822, Chapter 13, Page 15, provided that the Justices of the Supreme Court would arrange among themselves to hold a Court of Equity at the present places of holding the Supreme Court at least once each year. The Equity Court would be at Rogersville on the first Monday in November, at Charlotte on the fourth Monday in December, at Sparta on the second Monday in December, at Nashville on the fourth Monday in January, and at Columbia on the second Monday in January, each term to endure for two weeks, when, and if, necessary.
  4. Acts of 1824, Chapter 14, Page 41, increased the number of Judges on the Supreme Court which would now be held at least once each year in Knoxville, Sparta, and Nashville, and required the Justices to hold the Chancery Courts at least twice each year as this Act designated. The Chancery Court at Greeneville would hear the cases from the counties of Carter, Washington, Greene, Cocke, Jefferson, and Sevier on the third Monday in May and November of each year.
  5. Acts of 1826, Chapter 90, Page 81, provided that the Chancery Court at Greeneville for the counties of Carter, Washington, Greene, Cocke, Jefferson, and Sevier, would after January 1, next, start the regular terms of Court on the second Monday in May and November.
  6. Acts of 1827, Chapter 79, Page 80, divided Tennessee into two Chancery Divisions, repealing the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over original equity cases and providing for two Chancellors, selected by the General Assembly, to preside over the two Divisions. The Eastern Division had the courts at Rogersville, Greenville, Kingston, Carthage, and McMinnville, and the Western Division consisted of the courts at Franklin, Columbia, Charlotte, Jackson, and Paris.
  7. Acts of 1827, Chapter 88, Page 90, Section 3, set the opening dates for the terms of the Chancery Court at Greeneville for the counties of Carter, Washington, Greene, Cocke, Jefferson, and Sevier for the third Monday in May and November of each year.
  • Acts of 1829, Chapter 27, Page 48, provided that hereafter the Chancery Court for the District composed of the counties of Carter, Washington, Greene, Cocke, Jefferson, and Sevier, meeting in the town of Greeneville, would commence the regular terms on the second Monday in May and November, all outstanding bonds and process being made to conform.
  • Acts of 1833, Chapter 45, Page 51, stated that after January 1, next, the citizens of Jefferson County would have the liberty of filing their Bills in the Chancery Court either at the Court in Knoxville or at the Court in Greeneville as they might prefer.
  • Acts of 1835-36, Chapter 4, Page 32, divided Tennessee into three Chancery Divisions with a Chancellor to preside over each Division, who would be appointed by the General Assembly and Commissioned by the Governor. The three grand chancery divisions were further fragmented into Districts. The counties of Jefferson, Cocke and Sevier made up the Fifth District of the Eastern Chancery Division whose Court would be held at Dandridge on the first Monday in April and October. All this was done pursuant to the new State Constitution.
  • Acts of 1837-38, Chapter 116, Page 181, Section 12, rescheduled the court terms for some of the counties in the Eastern Chancery Division. The Chancery Court at Dandridge would hereafter take place on the third Monday in June and December.
  • Acts of 1839-40, Chapter 21, Page 42, Section 7, reset the terms of the Chancery Court in the Fifth District of the Eastern Division at Dandridge to be held on the second Monday in June and December instead of the third Monday as was formerly the case.
  • Acts of 1843-44, Chapter 201, Page 224, Section 2, stated that hereafter the citizens of Cocke County could elect to file their Bills in Chancery at the Chancery Court in Dandridge in Jefferson County, or at the Court in Sevierville in Sevier County.
  • Acts of 1847-48, Chapter 132, Page 214, Section 2, provided that all the citizens of Greene, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties could file their suits in Chancery at the Chancery Court in Greeneville or at the one in Dandridge, as they might prefer.
  • Acts of 1849-50, Page 347, repealed expressly such portion of Acts of 1847-48, Chapter 132, above, which allowed the filing of suits in Chancery at either Greenville or Dandridge for the citizens of Greene, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties.
  • Acts of 1857-58, Chapter 88, Page 96, separated the State into the Eastern, Middle, Western, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Chancery Divisions. The Eastern Division contained the counties of Carter, Cocke, Knox, Union, Sevier, Johnson, Greene, Washington, Sullivan, Hawkins, Claiborne, Grainger, Campbell, Hancock, Anderson, and Jefferson, whose court would meet on the second Monday in June and December at Dandridge.
  • Acts of 1865-66, Chapter 41, Page 66, established the terms of the Chancery Courts in the Eastern District in a post Civil War Act which assigned the counties of Cocke, Carter, Johnson, Hancock, Hawkins, Claiborne, Grainger, Greene, Sullivan, Washington, and Jefferson to the District. The Court at Dandridge would start its regular terms on the first Monday after the fourth Monday in April and October.
  • Acts of 1870, Chapter 32, Page 60, formed twelve Chancery Districts in Tennessee subsequent to the adoption of the 1870 Constitution. The first of those Chancery Divisions was composed of the counties of Johnson, Carter, Washington, Sullivan, Hawkins, Greene, Hancock, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Cocke, Powell, and Hamilton.
  • Acts of 1870, Chapter 47, Page 81, specified the opening dates for the terms of the Chancery Court in every one of the counties in Tennessee. In Jefferson County the court at Dandridge would open on the first Monday after the fourth Monday in April and October.
  • Acts of 1871, Chapter 75, Page 67, declared that hereafter the Chancery Court at Dandridge for Jefferson County would be held on the fourth Monday in April and October, and all writs, bonds, and process would be made to conform to those dates.
  • Acts of 1873, Chapter 106, Page 141, fixed the regular terms of the Chancery Court of Jefferson County from and after November 1, 1873, to begin on the second Monday in January and July.
  • Acts of 1885 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 20, Page 96, reorganized the entire lower judicial system of Tennessee into eleven Chancery Divisions. The First Chancery Division was composed of the counties of Johnson, Carter, Washington, Sullivan, Hawkins, Greene, Hancock, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Cocke, Hamblen, and Unicoi. Court terms would commence in Jefferson County on the second Monday in January and July. (This Act was cited in Flynn v. State (1958) 203 Tenn. 341, 313 SW2d 249).
  • Acts of 1891, Chapter 165, Page 341, changed the terms of the opening dates for Chancery Court terms in the First Chancery Division which included the counties of Washington, Greene, Carter, Sullivan, Cocke, Unicoi, Hamblen, Grainger, Johnson, Claiborne, Hancock, Hawkins, and Jefferson where the terms were slated to begin on the second Monday in May and November.
  • Acts of 1899, Chapter 214, Page 458, added the counties of Sevier, Blount, and Loudon to the First Chancery Division, and the counties of Union, Campbell, Anderson, Knox, Roane, Morgan, and Scott were assigned to the new 12th Chancery Division. The Court in Jefferson County would continue to meet on the second Monday in May and November. The First Chancery Division now consisted of the counties of Johnson, Carter, Washington, Unicoi, Greene, Cocke, Sevier, Blount, Loudon, and Jefferson.
  • Acts of 1899, Chapter 427, Page 991, restructured the lower court system of the State. Ten Chancery Divisions were formed of which the Second Chancery Division was made up of the counties of Sevier, Blount, Loudon, Campbell, Roane, Morgan, Scott, Union, Fentress, and Jefferson whose Court would begin its regular terms on the second Monday in April and October.
  • Private Acts of 1901, Chapter 438, Page 1050, amended Acts of 1899, Chapter 427, above, by changing the court terms in the First Chancery Division which now included the counties of Sullivan, Johnson, Carter, Washington, Unicoi, Greene, Cocke, Jefferson, Sevier and Blount. Court terms would begin in Jefferson County on the second Monday in May and November.
  • Private Acts of 1905, Chapter 359, Page 754, Section 9, provided that the Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit would henceforth hold the Chancery Court of Jefferson County.

 


Chancery Court Clerk & Master

The office of clerk and master of the chancery court is covered by title 18, chapter 5 of Tennessee Code Annotated and mentioned in article VI, section 13 of the Constitution of Tennessee, which provides that the clerk and master will be appointed by the chancellor.

The reference below is an act which once applied to the clerk and master in Jefferson County.

  1. Public Acts of 1982, Chapter 879, T.C.A. 16-16-203, was the authority for the Clerks and Masters who were serving as the Clerks of Probate Courts to accomplish a variety of clerical and judicial acts, during the probate of wills, or the administration of estates, some of which were not available to former Probate Clerks except by special authorization.

Tell a Friend!

Click the link below to share this site with your friends. A new window will open. (We don't collect e-mail addresses.)
For custom maps, graphics, self-publishing, and more ~~
For books, publications, and media ~~

Copyright Information

Unless otherwise indicated, all content and images contained in this domain path [jefferson.tngenealogy.net] are copyrighted exclusively to Billie R. McNamara.  All international rights reserved. All material donated by others or located on-line is identified, and copyright in those items is vested in the owner(s).  No copyright infringement is intended by the inclusion of Web-available information on this site for the benefit of researchers.

Neither the Webmistress nor the TNGenWeb Project is responsible for the availability or content of any external Web sites or pages linked from this site.  All links are provided for information purposes only.