RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_CourtAppeals_Johnson_001.jpg

Johnson v. Cook Assault Case Collection, 1779

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:14:36 PM

Added description

Description

Johnson v. Cook Assault Case Collection, 1779

Overview

The collection is a set of legal documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, dated December 16, 1779. It contains a summons and related court papers for the assault case of Joseph Johnson (plaintiff) against Thomas Cook (defendant) over an alleged assault on the enslaved man Cesar. The material is held by the Connecticut State Library and is part of the library’s New Haven County Superior Court files, specifically the “Black, African American, and Indigenous History” (BAAI) project.

Background

The case reflects the legal and social conditions of colonial Connecticut in the late 18th century, when slavery was still practiced in the state. The summons was issued by the New Haven Adjacent County Court, with the clerk Oliver Stanley Just Peace and constable Seth Harbrops Cook of Wallingford. The document is written in the style of a formal writ, commanding the plaintiff to appear before the court to answer the defendant’s action. The case is significant for scholars of early American legal history, African‑American history, and the history of slavery in New England.

Contents

  • Summons (writ): A printed document dated December 16, 1779, addressed to Joseph Johnson, ordering him to appear before the Adjacent County Court in New Haven.
  • Photographic reproductions: A JPEG and a TIFF image of the summons (file names RG003NHSCBAAIPSCourtAppealsJohnson001.jpg and RG003NHSCBAAIPSCourtAppealsJohnson001.tif).
  • Metadata: The collection’s record includes the ID 01KBM18EJGBPSWV0RAJCCJFK82, title, creator names, institution, language, and subject headings (Assault, Legal Documents, Slavery, African American History, New Haven County).

Scope

The collection covers a single legal proceeding from December 1779 in New Haven County, Connecticut. It documents the formal court action taken against Thomas Cook for assaulting an enslaved servant, Cesar, and includes the financial claim of £25,000 for damages. The material is limited to the summons and its reproductions; it does not contain trial transcripts, court rulings, or subsequent appeals. The collection is relevant to researchers interested in colonial legal practice, the status of enslaved people in New England, and the early history of African‑American legal claims.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "state library"}

@connecticut:place {country: @united_states}

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

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

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

@new_haven_adj_county_court:place {type: "court", location: @new_haven, jurisdiction: @new_haven_county}


@joseph_johnson:person {role: "plaintiff"}

@thomas_cook:person {role: "defendant"}

@cesar:person {status: "enslaved", ethnicity: "African American"}

@oliver_stanley_just_peace:person {role: "clerk"}

@seth_harbrops_cook:person {role: "constable"}


@assault:concept {}

@slavery:concept {}

@african_american_history:concept {}

@legal_documents:concept {}


@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection:collection {title: "Johnson v. Cook Assault Case Collection, 1779", created: @date_1779_12_16, institution: @connecticut_state_library, subjects: [@assault, @legal_documents, @slavery, @african_american_history, @new_haven_county]}


@johnson_v_cook_assault_case:event {date: @date_1779_12_16, location: @new_haven, subject: "Assault on enslaved man Cesar"}


@court_appeal_document:document {date: @date_1779_12_16, location: @new_haven, description: "Summons for Joseph Johnson to appear before Adj. County Court against Thomas Cook regarding assault on Cesar"}


@file_pinax:file {type: "metadata"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_courtappeals_johnson_001_jpg:file {type: "image"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_courtappeals_johnson_001_tif:file {type: "image"}


@file_pinax -> documents -> @johnson_v_cook_assault_collection

@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection -> held by -> @connecticut_state_library

@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection -> contains -> @johnson_v_cook_assault_case

@johnson_v_cook_assault_collection -> contains -> @court_appeal_document

@johnson_v_cook_assault_case -> plaintiff -> @joseph_johnson

@johnson_v_cook_assault_case -> defendant -> @thomas_cook

@johnson_v_cook_assault_case -> victim -> @cesar

@court_appeal_document -> issued by -> @new_haven_adj_county_court

@court_appeal_document -> authored by -> @oliver_stanley_just_peace

@court_appeal_document -> signed by -> @seth_harbrops_cook

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_courtappeals_johnson_001_jpg -> depicts -> @court_appeal_document

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_courtappeals_johnson_001_tif -> related to -> @court_appeal_document

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_CourtAppeals_Johnson_001.jpgJPEG
498.7 KB
OCR Text

To Wallingford Constable in New Haven County, Greeting, In the Name of the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut you are hereby commanded to summon Joseph Johnson of said Wallingford to appear before the Adj. County Court to be held at New Haven within & for the County of New Haven on the Last Tuesday of next December then and there to Answer unto Col. Thos. Cook Esq. of said Wallingford in an Action of Ass &c. whereon the Plaintiff & says that on about the 12th Day of Nov. Last the Def. in New Haven aforesaid an Assault made on the Body of his the R.P.'s Negro Man Servant named Cesar who was then about his Lawful Business in said New Haven and the Def. without any the least Provocation from said Cesar did then and there with a Large Club or Cudgel beat, bruise & wound said Cesar in a very terrible Manner in one of his Elbows so that the bone of the Elbow was by P. beating broken and he the P. & his other wife so much hurt so that he has suffered great pain and Confinement & hath been greatly Chargeable to him the Off in endeavouring to recover him to soundness which hath not as yet been done by which the Off hath lost the Service of said Cesar & hath been at great Cost for Surgeons &c. and also the Off hath often Called upon the Def. to make reparation for the Injury done to his the R.P.'s Servant & to Satisfy the R.P.'s Costs & Trouble yet the Def. hath refused and still doth refuse to make any the least Satisfaction therefor by which the Off is Damaged in a sum of £25000 &c. lawful money & thereof & for that he brings this Suit fail not but make due return Dated at Wallingford 16th Day of December 1779. Oliver Stanley Just Peace Wallingford December the 16th 1779 Thine I Read this writ in the meeting of the within named Def. Seth Harbrops Cook Constable of Wallingford New Haven Adj. County Court Day Last Tuesday 1779 and now the Def. in Quest says the Off declaration and Matter therein contained are in sufficient by Law Judg. &c. Leavenworth Def.

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:14:36 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:33:14 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:37:11 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:25:52 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Johnson_v_Cook_Assault_Case_1779"

Parent

01KBKZX7GNV7JBZTTBHTFKRK54

No children (leaf entity)