New Haven County Superior Court Files - Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases and Papers Collection

Version: 9 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:21:54 PM

Added description

Description

New Haven County Superior Court Files – Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases and Papers Collection

Overview

This is a digital collection held by the Connecticut State Library that aggregates two related court documents from the New Haven County Superior Court (NHSC). The collection is part of the library’s Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) project and is indexed in the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers Subject database. It contains a single court‑costs sheet from September 1731 involving an African‑American litigant known as “Negro Hannah” and a handwritten note dated 1781 by court clerk Moses Mansfield. Each item is preserved as high‑resolution JPEG and TIFF images, accompanied by PINAX metadata.

Background

The NHSC BAAI collection was created to support research into the legal experiences of Black, African American, and Indigenous people in colonial Connecticut. The court‑costs sheet reflects the administrative and financial aspects of the 1731 case, while the Moses Mansfield note provides a contemporaneous clerical record from 1781. Both documents were digitized by the Connecticut State Library as part of its New Haven County court project, which seeks to uncover and preserve legal records that involve marginalized communities.

Contents

  • 1731 Court Costs for Negro Hannah – a single page titled “Costs for Negro Hannah,” reproduced in JPEG (≈387 kB) and TIFF (≈13.7 MB). The image lists fee items such as summonses and juror payments and references individuals involved in the proceeding.
  • Moses Mansfield Note (1781) – a handwritten note titled “Record the Contents of this Note Moses Mansfield 1781,” available as JPEG (≈324 kB) and TIFF (≈14 MB).
  • Metadata – Each item includes a PINAX JSON file detailing creator, date, subjects (e.g., Court costs, Negros Hannah, Black history), and provenance.
  • Indexing – Both items are linked to the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers Subject field, allowing cross‑reference with other BAAI case files.

Scope

The collection covers two discrete documents dated 1731 and 1781, located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is limited to the financial record of the 1731 case and a single clerical note; no transcripts, pleadings, or related case files are included. The materials are in English and are relevant to scholars of early colonial legal history, African‑American history, and the administrative practices of the New Haven County Superior Court.

Entities

(loading...)

Entity Relationships

(loading...)

Raw Cheimarros Data

@date_1731 {year: 1731}

@date_1781 {year: 1781}

@court_costs:concept {description: "Financial charges associated with court proceedings"}

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

@black_history:concept {description: "Historical narratives and records concerning Black peoples"}

@african_american_history:concept {description: "Historical narratives and records concerning African American peoples"}

@notes:concept {description: "Written records, often brief, preserving information or observations"}

@nhsc_baai_ps_collection:collection {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Files - Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases and Papers Collection", creator: @new_haven_county_superior_court, institution: @connecticut_state_library, date_range: {start: @date_1731, end: @date_1781}, subjects: [@court_costs, @negro_hannah, @legal_documents, @black_history, @african_american_history, @black_african_american_and_indigenous_history, @new_haven_county, @superior_court, @notes, @moses_mansfield]}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @nhsc_baai_ps_collection

@nhsc_baai_ps_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@collection_1731_court_costs_hannah -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_ps_collection

@moses_mansfield_note_collection -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_ps_collection

@nhsc_baai_ps_collection -> part of -> @new_haven_county_superior_court_files

@negro_hannah -> appears in -> @nhsc_baai_ps_collection

@moses_mansfield -> appears in -> @nhsc_baai_ps_collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @collection_1731_court_costs_hannah

@file_pinax -> documents -> @moses_mansfield_note_collection

--- SYNTHESIS NOTES ---

# The overarching collection @nhsc_baai_ps_collection unifies the 1731 court‑costs documents for Negro Hannah and the 1781 note by Moses Mansfield, both indexed by the same subject‑index field @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject.

# Both sub‑collections are part of the New Haven County Superior Court Files record group (@new_haven_county_superior_court_files), reinforcing the shared provenance.

# Individuals @negro_hannah and @moses_mansfield are linked to the overarching collection, highlighting the focus on Black, African American, and Indigenous histories across the time span 1731‑1781.

Metadata

Version History (9 versions)

  • ✓ v9 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:21:54 PM
    "Added description"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 2:56:17 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:41:57 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:24:08 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 2 groups"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:24:06 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0GFYSQ4YBRYT563EQXBNE"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:24:04 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0GDTEK6ZBB0EWFYV9GJAG"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:15:05 AM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 2 files"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:45 AM · View this version
    "Set parent to 01KBKZYT0EBH7DHHGTHX3E5WHG"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:13:34 AM · View this version
    "Initial snapshot"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Files were grouped by their content and temporal context. The first group ('1731_Court_Costs_Hannah') contains documents related to court costs involving Hannah in 1731, while the second group ('1781_Moses_Mansfield_Note') contains a separate note from Moses Mansfield in 1781. Each group includes both the original image files and their reference JSON files, as well as TIFF versions where applicable. The grouping ensures thematic coherence and avoids overlap, as the two sets of documents are distinct in time and subject matter.

## Groups Created

- **1731_Court_Costs_Hannah**: Files related to court costs and proceedings involving Hannah in 1731, including expenses and sheriff's documentation.
- **1781_Moses_Mansfield_Note**: Files related to a 1781 note by Moses Mansfield, likely a separate legal or personal record.

Parent

01KBKZYT0EBH7DHHGTHX3E5WHG

Children (2)