Moses vs. Turkey Hill Indians Case Collection

Version: 12 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:24:47 PM

Added description

Description

Moses vs. Turkey Hill Indians Case Collection

Overview

This digital collection comprises the complete set of documents related to the 1871 legal action Moses vs. Turkey Hill Indians filed in the New Haven County Superior Court. The materials include the original petition, court summons, affidavits, decrees, sale reports, financial statements, and related administrative orders. All items are presented as high‑resolution JPEG and TIFF scans, accompanied by structured JSON metadata that records case numbers, dates, parties, and financial details. The collection is held by the Connecticut State Library and is indexed under the NHSC BAAI (Black, African American, and Indigenous History) subject field.

Background

The case was initiated in May 1871 by Roswell Moses, Eliza Franklin, Larivina Breckenridge, Elizabeth Moses, and Gerijanna Moses—descendants of the Turkey Hill Indians of Derby, Connecticut. They petitioned the court for the sale of a parcel of tribal land held by Sidney J Downs (or Selma A. Dewey in some copies). The court, under the oversight of Watrous C. Wakeslee, issued Decree 585 on 2 July 1871 authorizing the sale and mandating reporting and reinvestment of proceeds for the benefit of tribe members. The collection reflects 19th‑century legal mechanisms for managing Indigenous land transactions in Connecticut and the role of state courts in adjudicating such matters.

Contents

  • Petition and Affidavits – Full text of the petition, summons, and witness statements.
  • Decree 585 – The court order authorizing the sale, including procedural requirements.
  • Sale Report & Accounting – A ledger detailing the $1,000 sale, $40 in expenses, and allocation of proceeds ($600 in real estate, $240 in a savings bank).
  • Bill of Cost – Itemized court fees and expenses.
  • Administrative Orders – Instructions for the overseer to report sale details and reinvest proceeds.
  • Metadata – JSON records linking each image to case data, dates, and financial amounts.

Scope

The collection covers the period from the May 1871 court session through the September 1871 filing, focusing on the sale of Turkey Hill land in Derby and New Haven, Connecticut. It includes all official court documents, financial records, and related reports pertaining to this single Indigenous case. The collection does not extend beyond the May Term of 1871 or include unrelated court records.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@indigenous_peoples:concept {description: "Indigenous peoples"}

@land_ownership:concept {description: "Land ownership"}

@legal_petitions:concept {description: "Legal petitions"}

@land_sales:concept {description: "Land sales"}

@tribal_land:concept {description: "Tribal land"}

@financial_accounting:concept {description: "Financial accounting"}

@legal_decrees:concept {description: "Legal decrees"}

@court_orders:concept {description: "Court orders"}

@native_american_history:concept {description: "Native American history"}

@financial_records:concept {description: "Financial records"}

@legal_documents:concept {description: "Legal documents"}

@indigenous_cases:concept {description: "Indigenous legal cases"}

@file_pinax:file {title: "Moses vs. Turkey Hill Indians Case Collection", type: "Metadata", format: "PINAX", created: @date_1871_05, language: "en", description: "Collection of documents related to the case of Roswell Moses and others vs. The Tribe of Turkey Hill Indians, presented to the New Haven County Superior Court in May 1871. Includes petition, court decrees, sale reports, and financial records.", access_url: "PLACEHOLDER", rights: ""}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @moses_vs_turkey_hill_collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @pinax_collection:document

@file_pinax -> created by -> [@roswell_moses, @eliza_franklin, @larivina_breckenridge, @elizabeth_moses, @gerijanna_moses, @new_haven_county_superior_court, @watrous_c_wakeslee]

@file_pinax -> subjects -> [@indigenous_peoples, @land_ownership, @legal_petitions, @new_haven_county, @turkey_hill_indians, @indigenous_cases, @land_sales, @tribal_land, @legal_decrees, @court_orders, @native_american_history, @financial_accounting, @financial_records, @legal_documents]

@moses_vs_turkey_hill_petition -> led to -> @decree_585

@decree_585 -> ordered -> @sale_transaction:event

@sale_transaction:event -> recorded in -> @indigenous_cases_collection

@pinax_collection -> includes -> @sale_transaction:event

@watrous_c_wakeslee -> overseer of -> @turkey_hill_indians

@watrous_c_wakeslee -> creator of -> @file_pinax

@moses_vs_turkey_hill_petition -> presented to -> @new_haven_county_superior_court {when: @date_1871_05, where: @new_haven}

@decree_585 -> decree_date -> @date_1871_07_02

@sale_transaction:event -> date -> @date_1871_05

@indigenous_cases_collection -> subset of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

Metadata

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v12 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:24:47 PM
    "Added description"
  • v11 · 12/4/2025, 3:04:22 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v10 · 12/4/2025, 6:44:01 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v9 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:43 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 4 groups"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:41 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM106XK15PNV34Z31R0T1XH"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:40 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM105KCK4TRQQ5ED0T0H6GD"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:39 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM1049Q0XQVV90D6CTBPN61"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:37 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM102ZDGVCXF4WEAA26YM41"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:22:00 AM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 7 files"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:21:52 AM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 8 files"

More versions available (pagination not yet implemented)

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

The files were organized chronologically and thematically according to the legal process documented in the case: (1) initial petition documents, (2) court decrees and orders, (3) reports of the completed sale and accounting, and (4) financial records. This grouping follows the natural progression of the legal case while maintaining thematic coherence. Each document was placed in the group that best represents its primary content, with some documents appearing in multiple groups when they contained content relevant to multiple phases of the case.

## Groups Created

- **Petition_Documents**: Documents related to the original petition filed by Roswell Moses and others regarding the sale of Turkey Hill land
- **Court_Decree_and_Orders**: Documents containing the court's decree and subsequent orders regarding the land sale
- **Sale_Report_and_Accounting**: Documents reporting on the completed land sale and accounting of proceeds
- **Financial_Records**: Documents containing financial details and bills related to the case

Parent

01KBKZYT0E63119HXHP2F6YZHF

Children (4)