New Haven County Superior Court Inquest Records - Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases, 1713

Version: 8 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:25:20 PM

Added description

Description

New Haven County Superior Court Inquest Records – Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases, 1713

Overview

This collection contains the official inquest records of the New Haven County Superior Court concerning the death of London, a Negro man owned by Mr. Lewis Lizon, who was found to have hanged himself on 24 September 1713. The material is held by the Connecticut State Library and is indexed under the BAAI (Black, African American, and Indigenous) subject heading. It includes the jury’s written report, the list of jurors, and high‑resolution scans of the original documents in JPEG and TIFF formats, along with OCR‑extracted text.

Background

In the early 18th century, colonial courts routinely investigated deaths of enslaved persons. The inquest into London’s death was convened in Milford, New Haven County, and recorded by a jury of twelve men. The Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County project focuses on uncovering such records to illuminate African American and Indigenous histories in the region, and this collection exemplifies that effort.

Jury Report (24 Sept 1713): A written statement declaring that no mortal wound was found and that London had hanged himself with a chain.
List of Jurors: Miels Messin, William Adams, Jeremiah Brad, Samuel Baldwin, George Allen, Thomas Hibbert, Andrew Sanford, Joseph Clark, Nath. & Terrand Jm., Joseph Smith, Joseph Bryan, and Ebenezer Bryan.
Digital Reproductions: Two JPEG images (RG003NHSCBAAIPSInquestsLondon001.jpg and 002.jpg) and corresponding TIFF files (RG003NHSCBAAIPSInquestsLondon001.tif and 002.tif) provide digitized copies of the original documents, including OCR‑extracted text.
Metadata: The collection is catalogued under the subject index “Nhsc Baai Cases Papers Subject,” linking it to broader court records involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals.

Scope

The collection covers a single inquest event dated 24 September 1713 in Milford, Connecticut. It includes all surviving official documents related to the case, their digital reproductions, and associated metadata. The material does not contain ancillary court filings, personal correspondence, or subsequent legal proceedings. It is valuable for scholars studying colonial legal practices, slavery, and the historical experiences of African Americans in New England.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Inquest Records - Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases, 1713", creator: @jury_of_enquiry, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1713, language: "en", subjects: ["Inquest","Death","Suicide","Slavery","African American History","Legal Documents","Black, African American, and Indigenous History"], description: "Collection of inquest documents from the New Haven County Superior Court regarding cases involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals. Includes the inquest findings for London, a Negro man, who was found to have hanged himself in 1713.", place: [@milford, @new_haven_county, @connecticut]}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @inquest_documents_london

@file_pinax -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@file_pinax -> related to -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_london_001_jpg

@file_pinax -> related to -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_london_002_jpg

@file_pinax -> related to -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_london_001_tif

@file_pinax -> related to -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_london_002_tif

@inquest_documents_london -> part of -> @file_pinax

@inquest_documents_london -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@london -> appears in -> @file_pinax

@london -> subject of -> @inquest_documents_london

@lewis_lizon -> owned -> @london

@jury_of_enquiry -> investigated -> @london

@jury_of_enquiry -> includes -> [@miels_messin, @william_adams, @jeremiah_brad, @samuel_baldwin, @george_allen, @thomas_hibbert, @andrew_sanford, @joseph_clark, @nath_terrand_jm, @joseph_smith, @joseph_bryan, @ebenezer_bryan]

Metadata

Title: New Haven County Superior Court Inquest Records - Black, African American, and Indigenous Cases, 1713
Type: Collection
Creator: Jury of Enquiry
Institution: Connecticut State Library
Created: 1713
Language: en
Subjects: Inquest, Death, Suicide, Slavery, African American History, Legal Documents, Black, African American, and Indigenous History
Place: Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut
Source: PINAX

Version History (8 versions)

✓ v8 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:25:20 PM
"Added description"
v7 · 12/4/2025, 3:05:21 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction"
v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:44:27 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata"
v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:33:15 AM · View this version
"Reorganized into 1 groups"
v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:33:14 AM · View this version
"Added child entity 01KBM116RWMR0R8NXHJQ7PHFCW"
v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:22:31 AM · View this version
"Added OCR to 2 files"
v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:45 AM · View this version
"Set parent to 01KBKZYT0EP3B3FKJHAY6X008T"
v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:14:31 AM · View this version
"Initial snapshot"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt

# Reorganization Summary

All files in the directory pertain to the same historical event—the 1713 inquest into the death of London, a Black man. The files include both the original documents (in JPG and TIFF formats) and their corresponding reference JSON files. Since all files are directly related to this single event, they are grouped together under a single logical category. No files remain ungrouped as all share the same context.

## Groups Created

- **Inquest_Documents_London_Negro_1713**: Files related to the 1713 inquest into the death of London, a Black man, including jury reports and findings.

Parent

↑ 01KBKZYT0EP3B3FKJHAY6X008T

Children (1)

01KBM116RWMR0R8NXHJQ7PHFCW