New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Case Documents for Sarah and Freeman Clinton

Version: 10 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:22:57 PM

Added description

Description

Sarah and Freeman Clinton Divorce Case Documents, New Haven County Superior Court, 1859

Overview

This digital collection preserves the complete set of court‑record documents for the 1859 divorce proceeding between Sarah Clinton and Freeman P. Clinton in the New Haven County Superior Court. The materials include the original petition, sheriff’s return, and final divorce decree, each rendered as high‑resolution TIFF and JPEG scans, accompanied by OCR‑derived text and a Pinax JSON metadata record. The collection is catalogued by the Connecticut State Library and indexed in the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers subject field, indicating its relevance to Black, African American, and Indigenous legal history.

Background

The case was filed on December 3, 1859, by petitioner Sarah Clinton of Woodbridge, alleging desertion, adultery, intemperance, and cruelty. The court’s procedural record required a sheriff’s notice, which Sheriff David S. Bowen prepared and served on December 8, 1859. The final decree, issued in December 1859, addressed custody of three minor children and the dissolution of the marriage. The collection reflects mid‑19th‑century Connecticut family‑law practice and the administrative role of county sheriffs in civil proceedings.

Contents

  • Petition for Divorce (1859‑12‑03) – formal grounds for divorce, list of minor children, and petitioner’s signature.
  • Sheriff’s Return (1859‑12‑08) – notice of service, sheriff’s signature, and location of service.
  • Divorce Decree – court order granting divorce, custody arrangements, and final judgments.
  • Digital Representations – TIFF and JPEG scans of each document, preserving original layout and handwriting.
  • OCR Text – machine‑readable transcriptions of the petition, return, and decree.
  • Pinax Metadata – JSON record detailing creators, subjects, dates, places, and institutional provenance.
  • Subject Indexing – inclusion in the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers subject field, linking the case to broader minority‑history studies.

Scope

The collection focuses exclusively on the 1859 divorce case of Sarah and Freeman Clinton. It includes all primary court documents and their digital facsimiles but does not contain ancillary filings, correspondence, or subsequent appellate proceedings. The material is valuable for researchers of 19th‑century Connecticut family law, gender relations, and the legal history of Black, African American, and Indigenous communities in New Haven County.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Case Documents for Sarah and Freeman Clinton", creator: [@sarah_clinton, @freeman_clinton, @david_s_bowen, @new_haven_county_superior_court], institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1859_12, language: "en", subjects: ["Divorce","Legal documents","Marriage","Adultery","Domestic relations","Sheriff Returns","Child Custody","Black, African American, and Indigenous History","Desertion","Intemperance","Cruelty"], description: "Collection of divorce case documents from the New Haven County Superior Court involving Sarah Clinton and Freeman P. Clinton, including petitions, sheriff returns, and decrees. The documents detail allegations of desertion, adultery, intemperance, and cruelty, as well as the custody of minor children.", place: [@new_haven, @woodbridge, @new_haven_county]}


@file_pinax -> contains -> @divorce_petition_clinton


@file_pinax -> contains -> @sheriff_return_document


@file_pinax -> contains -> @divorce_decree


@file_pinax -> indexed in -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject


@divorce_petition_clinton -> about -> @clinton_divorce_case


@divorce_decree -> about -> @clinton_divorce_case


@freeman_clinton -> same as -> @freeman_p_clinton

Metadata

Title
New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Case Documents for Sarah and Freeman Clinton
Type
Collection
Creator
Sarah ClintonFreeman ClintonDavid S. BowenNew Haven County Superior Court
Institution
Connecticut State Library
Created
1859-12
Language
en
Subjects
Divorce, Legal documents, Marriage, Adultery, Domestic relations, Sheriff Returns, Child Custody, Black, African American, and Indigenous History, Desertion, Intemperance, Cruelty
Place
New Haven, Connecticut, Woodbridge, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut
Source
PINAX

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v10 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:22:57 PM
    "Added description"
  • v9 · 12/4/2025, 2:59:36 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 6:42:42 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:26:56 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 3 groups"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:26:55 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0NMDVB67J6G0RWWYJ5JZH"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:26:53 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0NJW3B1SNB6RT1F79DSR2"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:26:52 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0NHGJKSWJ5PGN6QC8HX7S"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:17:27 AM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 3 files"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:45 AM · View this version
    "Set parent to 01KBKZYT0E4WN250H1RKB10E89"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:13:38 AM · View this version
    "Initial snapshot"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

The files were grouped based on their content and the legal process they represent. The first group contains the divorce petition and related notices, the second group includes documents related to the sheriff's attempt to serve notice, and the third group comprises the final court decree. Each group includes both the original image files and their corresponding reference JSON files, ensuring all related documents are logically organized together.

## Groups Created

- **Divorce_Petition_Documents**: Files containing the original petition for divorce filed by Sarah Clinton, including the legal petition and related notices.
- **Sheriff_Return_Documents**: Files documenting the sheriff's return, indicating the unsuccessful attempt to serve notice to Freeman Clinton.
- **Court_Decree_Documents**: Files containing the final court decree granting the divorce to Sarah Clinton and awarding custody of the children.

Parent

↑ 01KBKZYT0E4WN250H1RKB10E89

Children (3)