New Haven County Superior Court Case Files: Executions - Hampton vs. Martin Clark

Version: 9 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:24:12 PM

Added description

Description

Hampton vs. Martin Clark Execution Documents Collection

Overview

This is a digitized collection of the execution documents from the 1790 case of Hampton, a free Negro man, against John Martin and Samuel Clark in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut. The collection contains two high‑resolution TIFF scans (≈29 MB each) of the first two pages of the original case file, accompanied by a JPG reference file for each image. The documents are in English and were originally printed in lawful money (pounds, shillings, and pence). They are part of the Connecticut State Library’s NHSC BAAI PS Executions series, a project that indexes court records involving Black, African American, and Indigenous litigants.

Background

The case arose from a debt judgment rendered on August 5, 1790, for £2 9 2 lawful money in damages and £15 15 8 like money in costs, totaling £18 4 10 lawful money. The writ of execution, signed by clerk Geo. Delwin Clark on August 11, 1790, directed the Sheriff of New Haven and constables of Cheshire to levy the defendants’ goods, chattels, and lands, and to detain John Martin and Samuel Clark in the New Haven prison until the judgment was satisfied. The collection reflects the legal mechanisms available to free Black citizens for debt recovery in the post‑Revolutionary United States.

Contents

  • Execution Writ (Image 001) – The full text of the writ, including the court’s authority, the amounts owed, the instructions to seize property, and the command to imprison the defendants.
  • Label Page (Image 002) – A brief caption reading “Hampton Negro John Martin Sr 1791,” identifying the parties and the year of the execution.
  • Metadata – JSON records detailing the collection’s provenance, subjects (execution documents, legal cases, African American history, debt collection, slavery and freedom), and institutional context (Connecticut State Library, PINAX).

Scope

The collection covers a single legal event in 1790, located in Cheshire and New Haven, Connecticut, involving a free Black plaintiff and two white defendants. It documents the enforcement of a civil judgment and the incarceration of the defendants, illustrating the intersection of debt law, race, and early American jurisprudence. The collection does not include the original court docket, trial transcripts, or subsequent appeals, focusing solely on the execution phase of the case.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Case Files: Executions - Hampton vs. Martin Clark", created: @date_1790_08_11, institution: @connecticut_state_library, language: "en", rights: ""}

@file_pinax -> creator -> [@hampton, @john_martin, @samuel_clark, @new_haven_county_superior_court]

@file_pinax -> place -> [@cheshire, @new_haven, @new_haven_county]

@file_pinax -> subject -> [@execution_documents:concept, @legal_cases:concept, @african_american_history:concept, @new_haven_county:place, @debt_collection:concept, @slavery_and_freedom:concept, @court_records:concept]

@file_pinax -> documents -> @hampton_vs_martin_clark

@file_pinax -> documents -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_collection

@file_pinax -> has subject field -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@hampton_vs_martin_clark:case {title: "Hampton vs. Martin Clark", type: "Execution", subject_terms: ["Executions", "Legal Cases", "Black, African American, and Indigenous History", "Court Records"]}

@hampton_vs_martin_clark -> corresponds to -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_case:event

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject‑heading field for New Haven County Superior Court files concerning Black, African American, and Indigenous cases and papers"}

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject -> applied to -> @hampton_vs_martin_clark

@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {name: "New Haven County Superior Court", abbreviation: "NHSC"}

@new_haven_county_superior_court -> created -> @hampton_vs_martin_clark

@new_haven_county_superior_court -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_001_tif:file {type: "Image", format: "TIFF", related_case: @hampton_vs_martin_clark}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_001_tif -> depicts -> @hampton_vs_martin_clark

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_002_tif:file {type: "Image", format: "TIFF", related_case: @hampton_vs_martin_clark}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_002_tif -> depicts -> @hampton_vs_martin_clark

@execution_writ:document {type: "writ of execution", date: @date_1790_08_11, author: @delwin_clark, total_amount: "£18:4:10 lawful money", additional_fee: "1 shilling 6 pence"}

@execution_writ -> addressed to -> @sheriff_new_haven

@execution_writ -> commands -> @john_martin {action: "levy money, goods, chattels"}

@execution_writ -> commands -> @samuel_clark {action: "levy money, goods, chattels"}

@execution_writ -> directs -> @new_haven_prison {action: "receive body of John & Samuel Sam Hampton"}

@execution_writ -> stored in -> @new_haven_prison

@judgment:document {type: "judgment", amount_lawful: "£2:9:2", amount_like: "£15:15:8", total: "£18:4:10", currency: "lawful money"}

@judgment -> awarded to -> @hampton

@judgment -> against -> [@john_martin, @samuel_clark]

@hampton_vs_martinclark_case:event {date: @date_1790_08_11, jurisdiction: @new_haven_county_superior_court, location: @cheshire}

@hampton -> plaintiff in -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_case:event

@john_martin -> defendant in -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_case:event

@samuel_clark -> defendant in -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_case:event

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_001_jpg -> contains -> @execution_writ

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_001_jpg -> part of -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_collection

@label_page:document {text: "Hampton Negro John Martin Sr 1791"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_002_jpg -> contains -> @label_page

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_002_jpg -> part of -> @hampton_vs_martinclark_collection

@file_pinax -> includes -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_001_tif

@file_pinax -> includes -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_hamptonvsmartinclark_casefile_002_tif

--- Synthesis ---

The @file_pinax metadata ties together the execution documents, high‑resolution scans, and the underlying case @hampton_vs_martin_clark, linking the free Negro plaintiff @hampton with defendants @john_martin and @samuel_clark. The collection is situated within the broader @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject, the subject‑heading field used for indexing Black, African American, and Indigenous court records in the New Haven County Superior Court (@new_haven_county_superior_court). The TIFF images (@file_rg003_…_tif) and JPEG scans (@file_rg003_…_jpg) both depict and contain primary source documents (writ, judgment, label page) that are part of the @hampton_vs_martinclark_collection, illustrating how the archival metadata, subject indexing, and case events are interlinked across the repository.

Metadata

Version History (9 versions)

  • ✓ v9 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:24:12 PM
    "Added description"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 3:02:35 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:43:27 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:30:41 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 2 groups"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:30:40 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0WGJ32BA4RGQ2WAY5KSQJ"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:30:38 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0WEPRMWQA3MQ9XDW1YXVC"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:20:33 AM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 2 files"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:46 AM · View this version
    "Set parent to 01KBKZYT0E29FBBG0R8Z4RQWC2"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:02 AM · View this version
    "Initial snapshot"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Organized files into two distinct groups: (1) Execution case documents (JPEGs and their JSON references) containing the legal text and annotations about Hampton's lawsuit, and (2) High-resolution TIFF scans of the same documents for archival preservation. This separation reflects both content accessibility (JPEGs for viewing/transcription) and preservation needs (TIFFs). All files relate to the same BAAI (Black, African American, and Indigenous) court case from 1790-1791.

## Groups Created

- **Execution_Documents_Hampton_vs_MartinClark**: Files related to the execution writ and case documents for Hampton (a free Black man) vs. John Martin & Samuel Clark in New Haven County Superior Court (1790-1791).
- **HighResolution_ArchivalScans**: TIFF files (high-resolution archival scans) of the Hampton vs. MartinClark execution case documents.

Parent

01KBKZYT0E29FBBG0R8Z4RQWC2

Children (2)