New Haven County Superior Court Gaol Breakers Costs Collection

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

Added description

Description

New Haven County Superior Court Gaol Breakers and William Post Cost Documents Collection

Overview

This digital collection, held by the Connecticut State Library, comprises scanned court documents from the New Haven County Superior Court that relate to two distinct legal matters: the 1709 “Gaol Breakers” investigation in Derby and a later case involving litigant William Post. The materials focus on legal costs, examinations, and the involvement of Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals, and are indexed under the NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject field of the library’s New Haven County Superior Court BAAI Project.

Background

The 1709 case arose when a “Negro” was examined for alleged participation in a prison break. The proceedings were recorded in Derby and later digitized by the Connecticut State Library as part of its effort to preserve early colonial legal records. William Post’s case, whose exact filing date is not recorded, was selected for inclusion because it illustrates the legal challenges faced by marginalized communities in the early twentieth‑century court system.

Contents

  • Bill of Costs – A detailed account of the expenses incurred in the Gaol Breakers case, listing examiners John Riggs, Jos Trobridge, and Jos Weed.
  • Examination Records – Transcripts of the examinations conducted before the court concerning the “Negro” and the alleged prison break.
  • Docket Entry Page – A single-page record from the William Post case, captured in JPEG and TIFF formats, with OCR text reading “The William Post said to be allowed by Sup Court.”
  • Metadata – Descriptive fields indicating case titles, subjects (Gaol Breakers, Legal Costs, Examinations, Prison Breaks, Black, African American, and Indigenous History), and provenance (New Haven County Superior Court, Connecticut State Library).

All documents are presented in English and include high‑resolution image files (JPEG, TIFF) with OCR‑derived text for searchability.

Scope

The collection covers only the bill of costs, examination records, and a single docket entry, not the full case files, indictments, or court orders. Geographically it is confined to Derby, New Haven County, Connecticut, and temporally spans the early colonial period (1709) and an unspecified early‑twentieth‑century case involving William Post. It is relevant to scholars of legal history, African American and Indigenous studies, and criminal justice, but does not include ancillary materials beyond those listed.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax -> creator -> [@new_haven_county_superior_court, @william_post]

@file_pinax -> institution -> @connecticut_state_library

@file_pinax -> created -> @date_1709

@file_pinax -> subject -> [@gaol_breakers:concept, @legal_costs:concept, @examinations:concept, @john_riggs, @jos_trobridge, @jos_weed, @negro, @prison_breaks:concept, @legal_documents, @black_african_american_and_indigenous_history, @costs]

@file_pinax -> contains -> @bill_of_costs

@file_pinax -> contains -> @examination_record

@file_pinax -> part of -> @gaol_breakers_collection

@new_haven_county_superior_court_baai_project -> includes -> @file_pinax

@gaol_breakers_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

Metadata

Title
New Haven County Superior Court Gaol Breakers Costs Collection
Type
Collection
Creator
New Haven County Superior CourtWilliam Post
Institution
Connecticut State Library
Created
1709
Language
en
Subjects
Gaol Breakers, Legal Costs, Examinations, John Riggs, Jos Trobridge, Jos Weed, Negro, Prison Breaks, Legal Documents, Black, African American, and Indigenous History, Costs
Place
Derby, New Haven County
Source
PINAX

Version History (9 versions)

  • ✓ v9 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:21:54 PM
    "Added description"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 2:56:14 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, 6:24:07 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 2 groups"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:24:06 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0GFE2SF0C0YMW0PJVHNQP"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:24:04 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0GDT7CMT13X0XM7KN09T8"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:15:04 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

The files were grouped based on their content, which clearly falls into two distinct cases: one involving gaol breakers and another involving William Post. Each group includes both the original image files and their corresponding reference files (.ref.json), as well as both JPEG and TIFF formats, ensuring all related documents are kept together by case. This strategy ensures logical coherence and easy retrieval of documents pertaining to each specific legal case.

## Groups Created

- **Gaol_Breakers_Case_Documents**: Documents related to the case of gaol (jail) breakers, including bills of cost and examinations.
- **William_Post_Case_Documents**: Documents related to William Post's case, including allowances by the Superior Court.

Parent

↑ 01KBKZYT0EBH7DHHGTHX3E5WHG

Children (2)