On December 10, 1790, the Georgia General Assembly created Elbert County, from a portion of Wilkes County, making Elberton the seat of its new government. The Inferior Court, made up of five justices of the peace for the county, tried any civil case except those involving title to land. The Inferior Court had jurisdiction over county business matters, such as care for the poor, building and maintaining the courthouse and jail, building and maintaining roads and bridges, establishing ferries, issuing licenses to sell liquor, appointing guardians, nominating justices of the peace and constables, authorizing indentures, and maintaining a register of wills. The Clerk of the Inferior Court kept minutes of its various proceedings--every one of which places individuals in Elbert County at a particular point in time.