Metadata : Tartu Vogt Court
Collection
- Country:
- Estonia
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archives of Estonia
- Holding institution (official language):
- Eesti Ajalooarhiiv
- Postal address:
- Tartu, Nooruse 3, 50411
- Phone number:
- +372 738 7521
- Web address:
- www.ra.ee
- Email:
- tartu@ra.ee
- Country:
- Estonia
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archives of Estonia
- Holding institution (official language):
- Eesti Ajalooarhiiv
- Postal address:
- Tartu, Nooruse 3, 50411
- Phone number:
- +372 738 7521
- Web address:
- www.ra.ee
- Email:
- tartu@ra.ee
- Reference number:
- EAA.996
- Title:
- Tartu Vogt Court
- Title (official language):
- Tartu foogtikohus
- Creator/accumulator:
- Tartu Vogt Court
- Date(s):
- 1751/1889
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 14,011 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection comprises documents recorded by the Tartu Vogt Court (German: Dorpater Vogteigericht, Russian: Дерптский фохтейский суд) during the period when Tartu (Dorpat) was a part of the Governorate of Livonia within the Russian Empire. The Vogt Courts were the lower city courts that dealt with civil and (minor) criminal cases and that monitored trade within the city. The collection includes 19 Jewish cases. These are predominantly debt recovery proceedings (14 cases) from the second half of the 19th century (only two cases are dated 1819). In these records Jews are defendants (7 cases including the earliest two) as well as plaintiffs (another 7 cases). There is also a Jew’s claim against unlawful delivery (dated 1884-1885) and a court proceeding between a Jew and the Counsel of the University of Tartu (case dated 1814-1817). The two remaining cases in the collection are criminal investigations. In the case dated 1841 a Jew and local craftsman were accused of theft. In the other case two Jewish residents were charged of smuggling tea (1860-1863).
Additional examples of Jewish-related files: Lawsuit of the Jew Baroch against the tanner Hornberg for dept, 1867 (inventory 4, file 996); Lawsuit of the Jew Moses Friedmann against the butcher G. Grünberg for dept exchange, 1872 (inventory 4, file 1085); Documents relating to the recovery of a debt by the turner Schleendorf for the benefit of the Jew Samuel Levi, 1848/1851 (inventory 3, file 1285); Case of dr. von Hetzel from the university council against the Jew Ruben Levy against the assigned lawyer's bill, 1814/1817 (inventory 2, file 1353); Cases of the blacksmith Sachse and the restaurant manager J.M. Kremmela against the Jew Osias Levy for debts, 1819 (inventory 2, file 1835 and 1838); Case of investigation against the chair-maker Heinrich F. Schmidt and the Jew Natal Bulkin for theft, 1841 (inventory 2, file 4519); Investigation case against the Jew Bär Benzelowitsch Blomenow and Moses Schmuel Friedberg for tea smuggling, 1863 (inventory 2, file 4821); Cases of the Jew Wulf Friedländer against Itzig Leisserowitsch, the Jew Leyser Itzikowitsch against Johann Kanzwei, the Jew Emanuel Jacobson against Caroline Kürss, the tractor's owner Lapping against the Jew Hirschowitz and Wilhelm Lipping against the Jew Itzig Clause, Sibbul and Annikow against the Jew Gloss, Jakow Siffzow against the Jew Kretzer, Michael Thomson against the Jew Raphael Natanson and the Jew Schmul Weiner against the Jew Gawrila Doronin for debts, 1866/1880 (inventory 4, files 1086, 1833, 1856, 3390, 3155, 5465, 5519, 6240 and 6818).
- Archival history:
- No information
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Tartu Vogt Court served as a lower city court that dealt mostly with minor offences and civil cases supervised by the Tartu Magistrate (German: Dorpater Magistrat). The court was active from the middle 17th century until 1889 when the German court system in the Baltic Governorates was abolished.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is arranged thematically. All the Jewish-related cases belong to the section “Kohtutoimikud” (Court proceedings). This section is arranged alphabetically. However, part of the proceedings is divided into subsections “Tsiviilasjad” (Civil cases) and “Kriminaalasjad” (Criminal cases), both of which also contain Jewish-related cases.
- Finding aids:
- General data on the collection is available on the web page of the Historical Archives of Estonia: www.ais.ra.ee
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Antonina Martynenko
- Reference number:
- EAA.996
- Title:
- Tartu Vogt Court
- Title (official language):
- Tartu foogtikohus
- Creator/accumulator:
- Tartu Vogt Court
- Date(s):
- 1751/1889
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 14,011 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection comprises documents recorded by the Tartu Vogt Court (German: Dorpater Vogteigericht, Russian: Дерптский фохтейский суд) during the period when Tartu (Dorpat) was a part of the Governorate of Livonia within the Russian Empire. The Vogt Courts were the lower city courts that dealt with civil and (minor) criminal cases and that monitored trade within the city. The collection includes 19 Jewish cases. These are predominantly debt recovery proceedings (14 cases) from the second half of the 19th century (only two cases are dated 1819). In these records Jews are defendants (7 cases including the earliest two) as well as plaintiffs (another 7 cases). There is also a Jew’s claim against unlawful delivery (dated 1884-1885) and a court proceeding between a Jew and the Counsel of the University of Tartu (case dated 1814-1817). The two remaining cases in the collection are criminal investigations. In the case dated 1841 a Jew and local craftsman were accused of theft. In the other case two Jewish residents were charged of smuggling tea (1860-1863).
Additional examples of Jewish-related files: Lawsuit of the Jew Baroch against the tanner Hornberg for dept, 1867 (inventory 4, file 996); Lawsuit of the Jew Moses Friedmann against the butcher G. Grünberg for dept exchange, 1872 (inventory 4, file 1085); Documents relating to the recovery of a debt by the turner Schleendorf for the benefit of the Jew Samuel Levi, 1848/1851 (inventory 3, file 1285); Case of dr. von Hetzel from the university council against the Jew Ruben Levy against the assigned lawyer's bill, 1814/1817 (inventory 2, file 1353); Cases of the blacksmith Sachse and the restaurant manager J.M. Kremmela against the Jew Osias Levy for debts, 1819 (inventory 2, file 1835 and 1838); Case of investigation against the chair-maker Heinrich F. Schmidt and the Jew Natal Bulkin for theft, 1841 (inventory 2, file 4519); Investigation case against the Jew Bär Benzelowitsch Blomenow and Moses Schmuel Friedberg for tea smuggling, 1863 (inventory 2, file 4821); Cases of the Jew Wulf Friedländer against Itzig Leisserowitsch, the Jew Leyser Itzikowitsch against Johann Kanzwei, the Jew Emanuel Jacobson against Caroline Kürss, the tractor's owner Lapping against the Jew Hirschowitz and Wilhelm Lipping against the Jew Itzig Clause, Sibbul and Annikow against the Jew Gloss, Jakow Siffzow against the Jew Kretzer, Michael Thomson against the Jew Raphael Natanson and the Jew Schmul Weiner against the Jew Gawrila Doronin for debts, 1866/1880 (inventory 4, files 1086, 1833, 1856, 3390, 3155, 5465, 5519, 6240 and 6818).
- Archival history:
- No information
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Tartu Vogt Court served as a lower city court that dealt mostly with minor offences and civil cases supervised by the Tartu Magistrate (German: Dorpater Magistrat). The court was active from the middle 17th century until 1889 when the German court system in the Baltic Governorates was abolished.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is arranged thematically. All the Jewish-related cases belong to the section “Kohtutoimikud” (Court proceedings). This section is arranged alphabetically. However, part of the proceedings is divided into subsections “Tsiviilasjad” (Civil cases) and “Kriminaalasjad” (Criminal cases), both of which also contain Jewish-related cases.
- Finding aids:
- General data on the collection is available on the web page of the Historical Archives of Estonia: www.ais.ra.ee
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Antonina Martynenko
