New Haven County Superior Court Files - Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) Cases and Papers: Costs and Gaol Breakers Collection

Version: 9 (current) | Updated: 12/3/2025, 7:23:30 PM

Added description

Description

New Haven County Superior Court Files – Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) Cases and Papers: Costs and Gaol Breakers Collection

Overview

This collection is a digitized set of legal documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, curated by the Connecticut State Library as part of its New Haven County court project. It focuses on the “Costs and Gaol Breakers” theme within the broader Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) subset of court files. The collection contains two distinct sub‑sets: a 1690 bill of cost and examination record for a gaol‑breaker case, and a 2025 Supreme Court allowance for William Bond. Both are presented as high‑resolution TIFF and JPEG images, accompanied by machine‑readable metadata.

Background

The collection is derived from the NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject database, a subject‑index field maintained by the Connecticut State Library to catalogue court files involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals. The project is supported by a National Historical Preservation Grant and aims to make early colonial and contemporary legal records searchable for scholars of legal and social history.

Contents

  • Bill of Cost Against Gaol Breakers (1690) – a single‑page sheet detailing legal costs, examinations, and the names of attorneys John Riggs Senior and Riggs Esq. It includes marginalia and a reference to an examination of a Negro for breaking a gaol in Derby.
  • William Bond Supreme Court Allowance (2025) – a court order granting an allowance to William Bond, recorded by the Connecticut Supreme Court.
  • Digital Facsimiles – for each document, a TIFF (high‑resolution) and a JPEG (lower‑resolution) image, both with OCR text.
  • Metadata – descriptive fields (creator, institution, place, subjects) and subject‑index tags (Gaol Breakers, Legal Costs, Examinations, African American History, etc.).

Scope

The collection covers two discrete legal events in New Haven County: a 1690 gaol‑breaker case in Derby and a 2025 Supreme Court allowance for William Bond. It is limited to the two documents and their images; no accompanying transcripts, filings, or related case files are included. The materials provide insight into early colonial legal practices involving African Americans and contemporary administrative decisions within the Connecticut judiciary.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {format: "json", type: "metadata", title: "New Haven County Superior Court Files - Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) Cases and Papers: Costs and Gaol Breakers Collection", creator: ["John Riggs Senr & Riggs Esq.", "William Bond"], institution: "Connecticut State Library", created: @date_1690, language: "en", description: "Collection of legal documents from the New Haven County Superior Court Files - Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) cases and papers, including bills of cost against gaol breakers and Supreme Court allowances.", place: ["Derby", "New Haven County", "Connecticut"]}


@file_pinax -> documents -> @bill_of_cost_against_gaol_breakers


@file_pinax -> documents -> @william_bond_supreme_court_allowance_collection


@file_pinax -> has creator -> [@john_riggs_senr, @riggs_esq, @william_bond]


@gaol_breakers:concept {description: "Individuals who broke out of gaol (jail)"} 


@legal_costs:concept {description: "Costs associated with legal proceedings"} 


@examinations:concept {description: "Legal examinations of individuals"} 


@african_american_history:concept {description: "Historical events and experiences of African Americans"} 


@new_haven_county_superior_court:concept {description: "Superior Court of New Haven County, Connecticut"} 


@legal_documents:concept {description: "Official documents pertaining to legal matters"} 


@file_pinax -> subject -> @gaol_breakers


@file_pinax -> subject -> @legal_costs


@file_pinax -> subject -> @examinations


@file_pinax -> subject -> @african_american_history


@file_pinax -> subject -> @new_haven_county_superior_court


@file_pinax -> subject -> @supreme_court


@file_pinax -> subject -> @allowance


@file_pinax -> subject -> @legal_documents


@file_pinax -> subject -> @baai


@bill_of_cost_against_gaol_breakers -> part of -> @new_haven_county_superior_court_files


@william_bond_supreme_court_allowance_collection -> part of -> @new_haven_county_superior_court_files


@examination_event -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject


@bill_of_cost_against_gaol_breakers -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject


@william_bond_supreme_court_allowance_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

Metadata

Version History (9 versions)

  • ✓ v9 (current) · 12/3/2025, 7:23:30 PM
    "Added description"
  • v8 · 12/3/2025, 7:19:09 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v7 · 12/3/2025, 7:15:18 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v6 · 12/3/2025, 7:13:14 PM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 2 groups"
  • v5 · 12/3/2025, 7:13:12 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBJT41H4AMS2A74NKCM672AS"
  • v4 · 12/3/2025, 7:13:11 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBJT405W1S46H5PA9QQT33BQ"
  • v3 · 12/3/2025, 7:12:03 PM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 2 files"
  • v2 · 12/3/2025, 7:11:50 PM · View this version
    "Set parent to 01KBJT1ABC66MAMWRVHJQJQN69"
  • v1 · 12/3/2025, 7:11:45 PM · View this version
    "Initial snapshot"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

The files were grouped based on their content and context. The first group contains documents related to the examination and costs associated with gaol breakers, including court examinations and bills. The second group contains documents referencing William Bond's allowance by the Supreme Court. Each group is distinct and represents a coherent thematic or contextual unit. Files without OCR content were assigned based on their filenames and metadata, ensuring every file is accounted for in a logical group.

## Groups Created

- **Bill_of_Cost_against_Gaol_Breakers**: Documents related to the examination and costs associated with gaol (jail) breakers, including court examinations and bills.
- **William_Bond_Supreme_Court_Allowance**: Documents referencing William Bond's allowance by the Supreme Court.

Parent

01KBJT1ABC66MAMWRVHJQJQN69

Children (2)