Sherman Divorce Case Collection

Version: 13 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:24:01 PM

Added description

Description

Sherman Divorce Case Documents Collection

Overview

The Sherman Divorce Case Documents Collection is a digitized set of legal records from the New Haven County Superior Court, preserved by the Connecticut State Library. It documents the marital dissolution of Sarah Sherman and William Sherman Jr. (and related family members) spanning the early 18th century (1701–1781). The collection is part of the NHSC BAAI (New Haven County Superior Court – Black, African American, and Indigenous History) project, which indexes court files that involve minority histories.

Background

The Connecticut State Library’s New Haven court project digitized and described early court records to preserve Connecticut’s legal heritage. The Sherman case was selected for inclusion because it illustrates the legal and social challenges faced by women seeking divorce in the post‑Revolutionary era and because it is indexed under the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers subject field. The materials were originally produced in New Haven, Connecticut, and reference locations such as Milford and Albany, New York.

Contents

The collection comprises five linked sub‑collections, each containing scanned images (JPEG and TIFF) and OCR text:
  • Marriage Certificate Collection – a single certificate dated 7 September 1781 documenting the marriage of William Sherman and Sarah Law of Milford.
  • Divorce Petition Collection – petitions filed by Sarah Sherman in 1781 alleging adultery and the husband’s status as a prisoner of war.
  • Judgment Collection – a 1701 judgment granting a settlement to Sarah Sherman.
  • Adultery Testimonies Collection – sworn statements from 1701–1781 concerning William Sherman’s conduct.
  • Sherman Divorce Case Documents Collection – the core set of court filings, affidavits, and notices from 1701 to 1781.
  • All documents are in English and are catalogued under the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers subject field, linking them to the broader BAAI database.

    Scope

    The collection focuses on a single divorce case and its associated legal documents. It includes only the primary court filings, judgments, and testimonies directly related to Sarah Sherman’s case; subsequent rulings, appeals, or unrelated family records are not part of the set. The material is relevant to scholars of early American legal history, gender studies, genealogists, and researchers interested in the intersection of race and law in colonial Connecticut.

    Entities

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    Entity Relationships

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    Raw Cheimarros Data

    @file_pinax:file {type: "file", format: "PINAX", title: "Sherman Divorce Case Collection", description: "Metadata for collection of documents related to a divorce case involving Sarah Sherman and various Sherman family members, spanning 1701‑1781"} 
    
    @file_pinax -> documents -> @marriage_certificate_collection
    
    @file_pinax -> documents -> @new_haven_county_superior_court_divorce_petition_collection
    
    @file_pinax -> documents -> @adultery_testimonies_collection
    
    @file_pinax -> documents -> @sherman_divorce_judgment_collection
    
    @file_pinax -> documents -> @sherman_divorce_case
    
    @file_pinax -> created by -> [@sarah_sherman, @william_sherman_jr, @john_sherman, @wm_sherman, @wales_sam, @nicholson]
    
    @file_pinax -> held by -> @connecticut_state_library
    
    @file_pinax -> subject -> [@divorce, @marriage, @adultery, @legal_documents, @legal_petitions, @testimonies, @black_african_american_indigenous_history, @new_haven_county, @eighteenth_century_legal_documents]
    
    @file_pinax -> location -> [@new_haven, @milford, @albany_new_york, @connecticut]
    
    
    
    @sarah_sherman:person -> involved in -> @marriage_certificate
    
    @sarah_sherman -> involved in -> @divorce_petition_1781
    
    @sarah_sherman -> involved in -> @sherman_divorce_judgment
    
    @sarah_sherman -> involved in -> @adultery_testimonies_collection
    
    
    
    @william_sherman_jr:person -> involved in -> @divorce_petition_1781
    
    @william_sherman_jr -> mentioned in -> @marriage_certificate
    
    
    
    @john_sherman:person -> defendant in -> @sherman_divorce_judgment
    
    
    
    @wm_sherman:person -> party to -> @affidavit
    
    @wm_sherman -> party to -> @court_opening_notice
    
    
    
    @wales_sam:person {full_name: "Sam Wales"} -> creator of -> @marriage_certificate_collection
    
    
    
    @nicholson:person -> creator of -> @adultery_testimonies_collection
    
    
    
    @marriage_certificate -> indexed by -> @subject_index_field:concept
    
    @divorce_petition_1781 -> indexed by -> @subject_index_field:concept
    
    @adultery_testimonies_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept
    
    @marriage_certificate_collection -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers:collection
    
    @new_haven_county_superior_court_divorce_petition_collection -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers:collection
    
    @adultery_testimonies_collection -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers:collection
    
    @sherman_divorce_judgment_collection -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers:collection
    
    
    
    @subject_index_field:concept -> same as -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept
    
    ---

    Metadata

    Version History (10 versions)

    • ✓ v13 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:24:01 PM
      "Added description"
    • v12 · 12/4/2025, 3:02:51 PM · View this version
      "Added knowledge graph extraction"
    • v11 · 12/4/2025, 6:43:26 AM · View this version
      "Added PINAX metadata"
    • v10 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:26 AM · View this version
      "Reorganized into 5 groups"
    • v9 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:25 AM · View this version
      "Added child entity 01KBM0T7F8JGC1Q9M0E0WZEG3Q"
    • v8 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:24 AM · View this version
      "Added child entity 01KBM0T657M6P9SKQBC49R4DY9"
    • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:23 AM · View this version
      "Added child entity 01KBM0T4VQ0JW3J200AJQCBECY"
    • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:21 AM · View this version
      "Added child entity 01KBM0T3HQNPMNJTP2VT3FPW1M"
    • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:20 AM · View this version
      "Added child entity 01KBM0T282BBGBR268W0K5CXMS"
    • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:20:10 AM · View this version
      "Added OCR to 2 files"

    More versions available (pagination not yet implemented)

    Additional Components

    reorganization-description.txt
    # Reorganization Summary
    
    The files were grouped based on their content and role in the divorce case of Sarah and William Sherman. The groups reflect the chronological and thematic progression of the case, from the marriage certificate to the divorce petition, testimonies about adultery, and the final judgment. Court documents that don't fit into these specific categories were grouped separately. All files were successfully categorized based on their content or inferred from filenames.
    
    ## Groups Created
    
    - **Marriage_Certificate**: Files containing the marriage certificate of William Sherman and Sarah Law
    - **Divorce_Petition**: Files containing Sarah Sherman's petition for divorce from William Sherman
    - **Divorce_Judgment**: Files containing the final judgment granting the divorce
    - **Adultery_Testimonies**: Files containing testimonies about William Sherman's adultery
    - **Court_Documents**: Files containing general court documents related to the case

    Parent

    01KBKZYT0E4WN250H1RKB10E89

    Children (5)