New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Case of Sophy vs. James Saunderson Collection

Version: 9 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:23:36 PM

Added description

Description

Sophy vs. James Saunderson Divorce Case Collection (1784‑1785)

Overview

This collection comprises digitized primary‑source documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, documenting a divorce proceeding between Sophy, a free Negro woman, and James Saunderson, a free Negro man. The materials were produced in 1784‑1785 and include marriage certificates, a petition for divorce, and the court’s grant of divorce. All items are available as scanned images (JPEG and TIFF) with accompanying OCR text where available.

Background

The collection is part of the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County Superior Court files, specifically the “Black, African American, and Indigenous” (BAAI) subset. It reflects the legal status of free Black residents in colonial and early‑American Connecticut, a period when such individuals could own property, marry, and litigate in court. The case illustrates the complexities of marriage and divorce for free Black people in the 18th century, including issues of prior marriage and marital deception.

Contents

  • Marriage Certificate (James Saunderson & Sophy) – dated October 18, 1784, issued in New Haven.
  • Marriage Certificate (James Saunderson & Caroline) – dated December 1763, indicating a prior marriage.
  • Petition for Divorce (Sophy) – filed August 23, 1785, alleging that James had deceived her and was still married to Caroline.
  • Court Grant of Divorce (Sophy) – issued in 1785, dissolving the marriage and restoring Sophy’s freedom to dispose of her property.
  • Supporting documents – including signatures of underwriters and court officials (e.g., Bilard Hubbard, Samuel Wales).

Each document is represented by a JPEG scan (with OCR) and a high‑resolution TIFF for archival preservation.

Scope

The collection covers legal proceedings in New Haven, Connecticut, from 1763 (the earlier marriage) through 1785 (the divorce grant). It focuses on free Black individuals, their marital status, and their interactions with the colonial legal system. The materials are relevant to scholars of African‑American legal history, early‑American court procedures, and the social history of free people of color in New England. The collection does not include ancillary court records beyond those directly related to the Sophy‑Saunderson case.

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 of Sophy vs. James Saunderson Collection", type: "Collection", creator: [@sophy, @james_saunderson, @caroline, @samuel_wales, @bilard_hubbard], institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1784, end: @date_1785, language: "en", subjects: ["Divorce", "African American history", "New Haven County", "Marriage", "Legal documents", "Black history", "18th century"], description: "Collection of documents related to a divorce case in New Haven County Superior Court involving Sophy, a free Negro woman, and James Saunderson, a free Negro man, who was previously married to Caroline. The documents include marriage certificates and a petition for divorce.", place: [@new_haven, @new_haven_county]}

@file_pinax -> created by -> [@sophy, @james_saunderson, @caroline, @samuel_wales, @bilard_hubbard]

@file_pinax -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@sophy_vs_james_saunderson -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@file_pinax -> documents -> @sophy_vs_james_saunderson

@file_pinax -> associated with -> @new_haven

@file_pinax -> associated with -> @new_haven_county

@file_pinax -> contains -> @marriage_certificate_james_sophy:document {parties: [@james_saunderson, @sophy], date: @date_1784_10_18, location: @new_haven}

@file_pinax -> contains -> @marriage_certificate_james_caroline:document {parties: [@james_saunderson, @caroline], date: @date_1763_12, location: @new_haven}

@file_pinax -> contains -> @petition_sophy:document {petitioner: @sophy, date: @date_1785_08_23, court: @new_haven_county_superior_court}

@file_pinax -> contains -> @petition_grant_sophy:document {petitioner: @sophy, date: @date_1785, type: "Divorce grant"}

Metadata

Title
New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Case of Sophy vs. James Saunderson Collection
Type
Collection
Creator
SophyJames SaundersonCarolineSamuel WalesBilard Hubbard
Institution
Connecticut State Library
Created
1784-1785
Language
en
Subjects
Divorce, African American history, New Haven County, Marriage, Legal documents, Black history, 18th century
Place
New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut
Source
PINAX

Version History (9 versions)

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Files were grouped based on their content and document type. The primary groupings separate the marriage certificates from the divorce petition and its resolution, while maintaining all reference metadata files together. This organization reflects the chronological and legal progression of the case from marriage to divorce, while preserving technical metadata separately.

## Groups Created

- **Marriage_Certificates**: Files containing marriage certificates or declarations related to James Saunderson/Sanderson/Saundersford and Sophia Jackson/Caroline.
- **Divorce_Petition**: Files containing Sophy's (Sophia Jackson) petition for divorce from James Saunderson/Sanderson.
- **Divorce_Grant**: Files documenting the granting of Sophy's divorce petition.
- **Reference_Metadata**: JSON reference files containing metadata about the original documents.

Parent

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