New Haven County Court Appeals Collection

Version: 6 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:25:53 PM

Added description

Description

Johnson v. Cook Court Appeals Collection, 1779‑1780

Overview

This is a digitized set of legal documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, documenting the assault case of Joseph Johnson against Thomas Cook and the subsequent appeal proceedings that occurred between December 1779 and August 1780. The collection is held by the Connecticut State Library and is part of the New Haven County Court Appeals Collection, itself a subset of the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers Subject. All items are in English and were created in the colonial period of Connecticut.

Background

The case arose in a time when slavery was practiced in Connecticut. Johnson, a free Black man, sued Cook for assaulting an enslaved servant named Cesar. The initial judgment was rendered in 1779, and the appeal was heard in August 1780. The documents illustrate the legal procedures of the era and provide insight into the participation of Black individuals in the colonial court system.

Contents

  • Summons (writ) – Printed on 16 December 1779, ordering Johnson to appear before the Adjacent County Court.
  • Judgment (1779) – A true copy of the court’s decision, examined by Chief Examiner John Whiting.
  • Appeal (August 1780) – The appellate decision confirming the original judgment.
  • High‑resolution scans – JPEG and TIFF images of the summons, judgment, and appeal, preserving signatures, stamps, and marginalia.
  • OCR‑extracted text – Transcriptions of the judgment and appeal documents.
  • Metadata – Includes collection ID, title, creators, dates, language, subjects (Assault, Slavery, African American History, Court Judgment, Appeals, Black African American and Indigenous History), and places (Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut).

Scope

The collection covers the specific legal proceeding of Johnson v. Cook from its initiation in December 1779 through the appellate decision in August 1780. It does not contain trial transcripts, docket entries, or unrelated court records. The materials are relevant to scholars of colonial legal history, the history of slavery in New England, and the experiences of Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals in early American courts.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

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@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {full_name: "New Haven County Superior Court"}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {full_name: "Connecticut State Library"}

@wallingford:place {state: "Connecticut"}

@new_haven:place {state: "Connecticut"}

@legal_documents:concept {}

@slavery:concept {}

@african_american_history:concept {}

@assault:concept {}

@court_judgment:concept {}

@appeals:concept {}

@black_african_american_and_indigenous_history:concept {}

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers:concept {description: "Database of New Haven County Superior Court files focusing on Black, African American, and Indigenous history"}

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject index field for BAAI cases and papers"}

@file_pinax -> has subject index -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@file_pinax -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers

@file_pinax -> documents -> @johnson_v_cook_assault_collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @johnson_case

@johnson_case -> documented in -> @file_pinax

@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection -> documented in -> @file_pinax

@joseph_johnson -> appears in -> @file_pinax

@thomas_cook -> appears in -> @file_pinax

@new_haven_county_superior_court -> appears in -> @file_pinax

@johnson_v_cook_assault_case -> linked to -> @johnson_case {relationship: "same underlying dispute"}

@johnson_v_cook_assault_case -> subject -> @assault

@johnson_case -> subject -> @court_judgment

@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection -> subject -> [@assault, @slavery, @african_american_history, @new_haven_county]

@johnson_case -> subject -> [@court_judgment, @appeals, @black_african_american_and_indigenous_history]

@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection -> indexed in -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@johnson_case -> indexed in -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

Metadata

Version History (6 versions)

  • ✓ v6 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:25:53 PM
    "Added description"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 3:07:01 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:45:03 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:54 AM · View this version
    "Set parent to 01KBKZZ7VHHY9D5YXJX4400CQW"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:43 AM · View this version
    "Added children"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:26 AM · View this version
    "Initial snapshot"

Parent

01KBKZZ7VHHY9D5YXJX4400CQW

Children (1)