[PW] 1860s district court transcripts?

[Katherine Harper]

This request is for me, so there's no hurry.

A small-town Iowa newspaper from 1866 mentions a court
case--apparently a $17,000+ lawsuit against my subject's grandfather
by an out-of-town bank--that was to be taken up by the next district
court (assizes). While the newspaper expressed great interest in the
case, it never followed up with information on why the suit was filed
or how it turned out.

For those of you who know the ins and outs of legal research, how
would I go about finding information on a district court case from so
long ago? It's possible that it was settled out of court, but
presumably this information would also be recorded somewhere. I have
the case name and the approximate date on which the court was to hear
it, but at present that's all I have to go on. Any assistance will be
much appreciated!

Thanks,

Kathy

-- 
Katherine Harper, Ph.D.
kharper4 at gmail.com