RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Costs_Samson_001.jpg

Samson Costs Documents Collection

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/3/2025, 7:23:30 PM

Added description

Description

Samson Costs Documents Collection

Overview

The Samson Costs Documents Collection is a digitized assemblage of legal cost records from the New Haven County Superior Court, dating to December 1849. The collection comprises a single bill of costs for Capt. Samson—a Negro man—detailing the monetary outlays associated with his criminal proceeding. It is presented as a pair of high‑resolution images (JPEG and TIFF) accompanied by extracted OCR text and a structured metadata schema that identifies each fee item.

Background

This collection is part of the Connecticut State Library’s “New Haven County Superior Court” (NHSC) project, specifically the “Black, African American, and Indigenous History” (BAAI) retrospective series. The BAAI initiative seeks to assemble, describe, and digitize court records that involve African American and Indigenous individuals. Capt. Samson’s case is a representative example of the period’s legal documentation for a Black defendant, and the collection reflects the library’s commitment to preserving these historically significant records.

Contents

  • Bill of Costs (RG003NHSCBAAIPSCostsSamson001) – An itemized ledger listing fees for:
  • - Justice‑Master Examination (0.8.2) - Clerk (0‑0‑10) - Sheriff and Constable (3‑9‑0‑4‑9) - Grand Jury (1‑1‑4) and its summoning (0‑2‑8) - Constable attendance (2 days, 0‑2‑9) - Court fees (0‑14‑6) - Attorney fees (0.12.0) - Discharge & filing (0.3.0) - Additional tax and clerk fees (3‑4).
  • OCR‑extracted text – Provides a machine‑readable version of the bill’s content, including references to individuals such as Thomas Miles, Janet Manson, Thomas Beach, and Joseph Parker.
  • Metadata – Structured JSON linking each fee to its conceptual label, the case, and the source institution.

Scope

The collection focuses narrowly on the financial aspects of Capt. Samson’s criminal case, offering a detailed snapshot of court‑related expenditures in mid‑19th‑century New Haven. It does not include the full trial transcript, evidence, or sentencing records, but it provides essential context for researchers examining the economic burdens placed on African American defendants during this era. The collection is therefore a valuable resource for legal historians, scholars of Black and Indigenous history, and those studying the administrative practices of the New Haven County Superior Court.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@samson_costs_documents_collection:collection {title: "Samson Costs Documents Collection", creator: [@capt_samson], institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1700_1800, language: "en", subjects: [@black_african_american_and_indigenous_history, @legal_costs, @new_haven_county_superior_court, @court_fees, @grand_jury, @attorney_fees]}

@capt_samson:person {race: "Negro", role: "subject of case"}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {location: @connecticut}

@black_african_american_and_indigenous_history:concept {description: "Black, African American, and Indigenous History"}

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

@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {place: @new_haven_county, jurisdiction: @connecticut_state_library}

@court_fees:concept {description: "Fees charged by the court"}

@grand_jury:organization {type: "jury"}

@attorney_fees:concept {description: "Fees paid to attorneys"}

@file_pinax:file {type: "Metadata (PINAX)", describes: @samson_costs_documents_collection}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_costs_samson_001_jpg:file {type: "Image/Asset with OCR", depicts: @bill_of_capt_samson, ocr_text: "Bill of Capt. Samson a Negro man\n\nTo Justice-Master Examination &c. 0.8.2.\nTo Clerk the Clark signing warrant 0-0-10\nTo y' Sheriff to the Constable 3-9-0-4-9\nTo the grand jury 1-1-4\nSummoning the grand jury 0-2-8\nTo y' Constable, attendance 2 days 0-2-9\nCourt fees 0-14-6\nAttorneys fees 0.12.0\nEntering of discharge & filing papers 0.3.0\n3-12-3\n\nThis Bill Taxed att 3-12-3\nTax'd by the Law Officer\nClarks fees for summoning grand jury 3-4.\n\nThomas miles 3-12-3\nJanet manson 0-3-4\nThomas Beach at 7 3-15-7\nJoseph parker\nall except me what's more for my part 4 per pr which is -0-16-0"}

@bill_of_capt_samson:document {type: "Bill of costs", related_case: @capt_samson, description: "Itemized costs for Capt. Samson's legal case"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @justice_master_examination:concept {amount: "0.8.2"}

@justice_master_examination:concept {description: "Justice-Master Examination fee"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @clerk_fee:concept {amount: "0-0-10"}

@clerk_fee:concept {description: "Clerk signing warrant fee"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @sheriff_fee:concept {amount: "3-9-0-4-9"}

@sheriff_fee:concept {description: "Sheriff fee to the Constable"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @grand_jury_fee:concept {amount: "1-1-4"}

@grand_jury_fee:concept {description: "Fee to the grand jury"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @grand_jury_summoning_fee:concept {amount: "0-2-8"}

@grand_jury_summoning_fee:concept {description: "Summoning the grand jury fee"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @constable_attendance_fee:concept {amount: "0-2-9", days: 2}

@constable_attendance_fee:concept {description: "Constable attendance fee"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @court_fees:concept {amount: "0-14-6"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @attorney_fees:concept {amount: "0.12.0"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> item -> @discharge_filing_fee:concept {amount: "0.3.0"}

@discharge_filing_fee:concept {description: "Fee for entering discharge and filing papers"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> tax -> @law_officer:person {action: "Tax'd by the Law Officer"}

@law_officer:person {role: "Law Officer"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> clerk_fee_for_grand_jury_summoning -> @clerk_grand_jury_summoning_fee:concept {amount: "3-4"}

@clerk_grand_jury_summoning_fee:concept {description: "Clerk's fee for summoning grand jury"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> mentions -> @thomas_miles:person {amount: "3-12-3"}

@thomas_miles:person {full_name: "Thomas Miles"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> mentions -> @janet_manson:person {amount: "0-3-4"}

@janet_manson:person {full_name: "Janet Manson"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> mentions -> @thomas_beach:person {amount: "3-15-7", note: "at 7"}

@thomas_beach:person {full_name: "Thomas Beach"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> mentions -> @joseph_parker:person {}

@joseph_parker:person {full_name: "Joseph Parker"}

@bill_of_capt_samson -> note -> @misc_note:concept {text: "all except me what's more for my part 4 per pr which is -0-16-0"}

@misc_note:concept {description: "Unclear additional note on the bill"}

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Costs_Samson_001.jpgJPEG
411.81 KB
OCR Text

Bill of Capt. Samson a Negro man To Justice-Master Examination &c. 0.8.2. To Clerk the Clark signing warrant 0-0-10 To y' Sheriff to the Constable 3-9-0-4-9 To the grand jury 1-1-4 Summoning the grand jury 0-2-8 To y' Constable, attendance 2 days 0-2-9 Court fees 0-14-6 Attorneys fees 0.12.0 Entering of discharge & filing papers 0.3.0 3-12-3 This Bill Taxed att 3-12-3 Tax'd by the Law Officer Clarks fees for summoning grand jury 3-4. Thomas miles 3-12-3 Janet manson 0-3-4 Thomas Beach at 7 3-15-7 Joseph parker all except me what's more for my part 4 per pr which is -0-16-0

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/3/2025, 7:23:30 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/3/2025, 7:19:18 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/3/2025, 7:15:17 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/3/2025, 7:13:59 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Samson_Costs_Documents"

Parent

01KBJT1C7F8Y4NRRRR9A349BR8

No children (leaf entity)