Catalogue description Court of Common Pleas: Registers of Articles of Clerkship and Affidavits of Due Execution

Registers of attorneys and solicitors serving as articled clerks in the Court of Common Pleas.

The registers contain a chronological list of clerks, the names and addresses of their masters, the name of the person who proved the due execution of the articles, the date and term of the articles, and the dates on which they were sworn and filed. The terms to be served varied from five months to seven years, although in most cases the term was the standard one of five years prescribed by the Attorneys and Solicitors Act of 1728.

A register of affidavits of the due execution of articles of clerkship is also included. It contains the names and addresses of the masters to whom clerks were articled, together with the names and addresses of the clerks and the person making the affidavit, together with the date of the articles, the date of the swearing of the affidavit and also of filing. Sometimes the clerk's age and parentage are also given.