At the Courthouse (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 9)

 Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis, TN       

(Source: shelbycountytn.gov)

The courthouse was huge. I remember standing outside staring at the statues. They appeared to be giants. The steps were steep and hard to climb. The benches inside were too high to sit on and the deep, dark wood made them completely intimidating. The windows were enormous. I had never seen such big windows in my life. 

I was six years old and my parents were getting divorced. It was the early 1950s and people just didn’t get divorced that often back then. None of my friends had divorced parents. At least none that I knew of at the time. The fact that I had to go to the courthouse at all was traumatic in itself. My brother and I had to be ‘on call’ for at least a couple of days because the judge wanted to visit with us. I didn’t know why at the time, but of course, I know now that custody was an issue. He wanted to get to know us so that he could make the decision as to which parent should have custody. 

The beautiful, stately Shelby County Courthouse, that I’ve since come to love, was so frightening to me back then. Everything seemed so vast and so solemn. My brother managed to bring some fun to our visits there by teaching me how to run along the benches and climb up the windows. Needless to say, we eventually got caught, and the fun ended quickly. Very quickly.  

Over the years, I visited that courthouse as little as possible. But now I go frequently, mainly to participate in lineage society events held there. It’s funny how small those benches seem to me now. 

The records for Shelby County are now located in our archives and not in the courthouse. I’ve visited many small-town courthouses over the years searching for treasures in my family’s history. None of them are as beautiful as the one we have here in Memphis…and none have as many memories as that one does for me. Memories filled with nightmares from my childhood. It took a long time for me to be able to go into any courthouse at all. 

Thankfully, I’ve gotten over those nightmares. I’ve got research to do!

@2019 Copyright by Carla Love Maitland