General Court (Record Group CT)

The upper house of the General Court consisted in the colonial period (1629-1686) of assistants sitting with the governor and deputy governor and originally called the Court of Assistants--though in 1634 the court's legislative powers were ceded to the General Court as a whole and by 1644 that term was reserved for the assistants serving solely in their judicial capacity only; during the intercharter period under a revival of colonial government (1689-1692) and in the provincial and later Revolutionary periods (1692-1774, 1775-1780), the Council (in its legislative as opposed to its executive role); under the 1780 Constitution, the Senate. For further details see: Massachusetts. General Court. Agency history record. --NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agencies described above can be found by searching the following access points for the time period stated: 1629-164-? --Massachusetts. Court of Assistants; 164-? -1686--Massachusetts. General Court. Assistants; 1689-1780--Massachusetts. Council; 1780-present--Massachusetts. Senate.