RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Costs_Samson_001.jpg

Samson Case Costs Collection

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:14:13 PM

Added description

Description

Samson Case Costs Collection

Overview

The Samson Case Costs Collection is a digitized assemblage of court‑related financial documents from the 1724 legal case involving a Black plaintiff, Samson, in New Haven County, Connecticut. The collection is housed by the Connecticut State Library and is part of the New Haven County Superior Court Files (NHSC) project, specifically the Black, African American, and Indigenous History (BAAI) retrospective series. It is presented in English and comprises a single primary bill (Bill Samson 001) along with its high‑resolution scanned images in JPEG and TIFF formats.

Background

The NHSC files constitute Record Group 3 of the Connecticut State Library’s archival holdings, chronicling the operations of the New Haven County Superior Court. The BAAI project, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, focuses on extracting and contextualizing court records that involve Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals. The Samson case is a notable early instance of a Black litigant confronting the colonial legal system, and the cost bill provides insight into the financial burdens imposed on such litigants.

Contents

  • Bill Samson 001 – A detailed ledger of court fees, including Justice‑Master Examination, clerk signing, sheriff payments, grand jury summons, and attorney fees.
  • Scanned images – A JPEG image (421 kB) and a TIFF image (25 MB) of the original bill, preserving the handwritten annotations and fee breakdowns.
  • Metadata – Descriptive fields indicating creator (Samson), date (1724), place (New Haven County, Connecticut), and subject headings (legal costs, court fees, African American history, 18th century).

Scope

The collection covers the fiscal aspects of the 1724 Samson case, limited to the cost bill and its reproductions. It does not include the full court docket, pleadings, or subsequent judgments. Geographically, it is confined to New Haven County, Connecticut, and temporally to the year 1724. The collection is relevant to researchers of early colonial legal history, African American legal heritage, and the economic conditions of litigants in the 18th century.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@samson_case_costs_collection:document {title: "Samson Case Costs Collection", creator: @samson, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1724, language: "en", subjects: ["Legal costs", "Court fees", "African American history", "New Haven County", "18th century"], description: "Collection of documents detailing the costs associated with the case of Samson, a Negro man, in 1724. Includes bills for various court-related expenses.", place: [@new_haven_county]}

@samson:person {description: "Negro man who was the plaintiff in a 1724 legal case in New Haven County"}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {description: "Connecticut State Library, holder of the New Haven County Superior Court Files project"}

@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}

@samson_case:event {description: "Legal case involving Samson regarding court costs", when: @date_1724, where: @new_haven_county, participant: @samson}

@bill_samson_001:document {title: "Bill of Capt. Samson a Negro man", type: "Bill of costs", fees: ["Justice-Master Examination: 0.8.2", "Clerk signing warrant: 0-0-10", "Sheriff to the Constable: 3-9-0-4-9", "Grand jury: 1-1-4", "Summoning the grand jury: 0-2-8", "Constable attendance (2 days): 0-2-9", "Court fees: 0-14-6", "Attorneys fees: 0.12.0", "Entering of discharge & filing papers: 0.3.0"]}

@nhsc_files:document {description: "New Haven County Superior Court Files (Record Group 3)"} 

@baai_project:concept {description: "Black, African American, and Indigenous History project focusing on New Haven County court records"}

@black_african_american_history:concept {description: "Historical research area concerning Black and African American individuals"}

@indigenous_history:concept {description: "Historical research area concerning Indigenous peoples"}

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject-index field for BAAI cases and papers within the New Haven County Superior Court Files"}

@samson_case -> documented in -> @samson_case_costs_collection

@samson_case_costs_collection -> contains -> @bill_samson_001

@file_pinax -> documents -> @samson_case_costs_collection

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_costs_samson_001_jpg -> image of -> @bill_samson_001

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_costs_samson_001_tif -> image of -> @bill_samson_001

@samson_case -> part of -> @nhsc_files

@nhsc_files -> part of -> @baai_project

@baai_project -> focuses on -> [@black_african_american_history, @indigenous_history]

@samson_case -> involves -> @black_african_american_history

@samson_case_costs_collection -> subject terms -> ["Legal costs", "Court fees", "African American history", "New Haven County", "18th century"]

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Costs_Samson_001.jpgJPEG
411.81 KB
OCR Text

Bill of Capt. Samson a Negro man To Justice-Master Examination &c. 0.8.2. To Clerk the Clark signing warrant 0-0-10 To y' Sheriff to the Constable 3-9-0-4-9 To the grand jury 1-1-4 Summoning the grand jury 0-2-8 To y' Constable, attendance 2 days 0-2-9 Court fees 0-14-6 Attorneys fees 0.12.0 Entering of discharge & filing papers 0.3.0 3-12-3 This Bill Taxed att 3-12-3 T& Jonth Law Assist Clarks fees for summoning grand jury - 3-4. Thomas miles 3-12-3 Jan't nason 0-3-4 Thomas Beachat 3-15-7 Joseph Parker all except me what more for my part 4 per pr which is - 0-16-0

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:14:13 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:31:31 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:37:02 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:25:10 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Samson_Case_Costs_1724"

Parent

01KBKZX7FJB99ZTX3YA2WNGN8F

No children (leaf entity)