Brockway Divorce Case Collection

Version: 10 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:15:35 PM

Added description

Description

Brockway Divorce Case Collection (1758–1769)

Overview

The Brockway Divorce Case Collection is a digitized assemblage of legal documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, preserved by the Connecticut State Library. It comprises depositions, petitions, witness testimonies, and service documents that together record the divorce proceedings involving the Brockway family from 1758 to 1769. The collection is catalogued under the NHSC BAAI (Black, African American, and Indigenous History) subject index, highlighting its relevance to the study of marginalized communities in Connecticut’s legal history.

Background

The New Haven County Superior Court was the principal judicial body for the county during the colonial and early statehood periods. Divorce cases were infrequent and required formal court action, making the Brockway files a valuable window into 18th‑century family law. The Connecticut State Library’s NHSC BAAI project seeks to illuminate the experiences of Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals in court records, and the Brockway files were incorporated because of their association with the Brockway family and the presence of witnesses and parties who were part of these communities.

Contents

  • Depositions (e.g., 1759 depositions describing the wife’s mental state)
  • Court petitions (two divorce petitions dated 1759 and 1769)
  • Service documents (a 1758 petition involving Margaret Breckaway)
  • Witness testimonies (statements by Sarah Newell, Josiah Lewis, Samuel Newell, and Herzekiah Gridley)
  • Metadata (PINAX JSON records, subject‑index field “NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject”)
All items are available as high‑resolution JPEG and TIFF scans, accompanied by OCR‑extracted text where applicable.

Scope

The collection covers a discrete set of legal filings and related documents from 1758 to 1769, geographically bound to New Haven County (Farmington, New Haven, Waterbury, Branford, New Cambridge) and the state of Connecticut. It does not include court judgments, transcripts, or subsequent proceedings. The materials are in English and are intended for researchers of early colonial law, genealogy, and the intersection of race, gender, and family in 18th‑century New England.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@date_1758_08_18:date

@divorce:concept {description: "Legal dissolution of marriage"}

@legal_depositions:concept {description: "Sworn statements recorded for legal proceedings"}

@legal_petitions:concept {description: "Formal requests submitted to a court"}

@legal_documents:concept {description: "Official papers used in legal contexts"}

@testimonies:concept {description: "Statements given under oath"}

@witness_statements:concept {description: "Accounts provided by witnesses"}

@marriage:concept {description: "Legal and social union between spouses"}

@mental_health:concept {description: "Psychological well‑being, often referenced in legal contexts"}

@brockway_family:concept {description: "The Brockway family involved in 18th‑century divorce cases"}

@new_haven_county:concept {description: "County in Connecticut where the Superior Court sat"}

@black_african_american_and_indigenous_history:concept {description: "History of Black, African American, and Indigenous peoples"}

@african_american_history:concept {description: "History of African American people"}

@eighteenth_century:concept {description: "The period from 1701 to 1800"}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @brockway_divorce_depositions

@file_pinax -> documents -> @brockway_divorce_court_petitions

@file_pinax -> documents -> @brockway_divorce_service_documents

@file_pinax -> documents -> @brockway_divorce_witness_testimonies

@file_pinax -> created_by -> [@new_haven_county_superior_court, @samuel_brockway, @john_breckaway, @sarah_newell, @josiah_lewis, @samuel_newell, @herzekiah_gridley]

@connecticut_state_library -> holds -> @file_pinax

@file_pinax -> subject -> @divorce

@file_pinax -> subject -> @legal_depositions

@file_pinax -> subject -> @legal_petitions

@file_pinax -> subject -> @legal_documents

@file_pinax -> subject -> @testimonies

@file_pinax -> subject -> @witness_statements

@file_pinax -> subject -> @adultery:concept

@file_pinax -> subject -> @marriage

@file_pinax -> subject -> @mental_health

@file_pinax -> subject -> @brockway_family

@file_pinax -> subject -> @new_haven_county

@file_pinax -> subject -> @black_african_american_and_indigenous_history

@file_pinax -> subject -> @african_american_history

@file_pinax -> subject -> @eighteenth_century

@file_pinax -> created {when: @date_1758_08_18, end: @date_1769}

@samuel_brockway -> same as -> @samuel_brocway

@samuel_brockway -> same as -> @samuel_brockaway

@samuel_brocway -> same as -> @samuel_brockaway

@brockway_divorce_depositions -> subject_index -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept

@brockway_divorce_court_petitions -> subject_index -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept

@brockway_divorce_service_documents -> subject -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept

@brockway_divorce_witness_testimonies -> subject -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept

@brockway_divorce_depositions -> created_by -> @new_haven_county_superior_court

@brockway_divorce_court_petitions -> created_by -> @new_haven_county_superior_court

@brockway_divorce_service_documents -> created_by -> @john_breckaway

@brockway_divorce_witness_testimonies -> created_by -> [@sarah_newell, @josiah_lewis, @samuel_newell, @herzekiah_gridley]

Metadata

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v10 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:15:35 PM
    "Added description"
  • v9 · 12/4/2025, 2:35:15 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 6:37:48 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:28:06 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 5 groups"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:28:04 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0QRF49SZ3G0ESH5XNYEWK"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:28:03 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0QQ4YQCHZCZV0FQW4FECE"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:28:01 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0QN50WF8G4WVBEWSX9SF5"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:28:00 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0QKS62WB96Q5RTAXP5Z56"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:27:58 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0QJD4MYHHF0A6TFQFB4EK"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:26:42 AM · View this version
    "Alphabetical chunk 2/2 (16 files)"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Files were organized chronologically and thematically around the Brockway divorce case, with groupings based on document type (depositions vs court petitions) and key events (1758 adultery allegations vs 1759 depositions). Each group pairs the JPEG reference files with their corresponding TIFF counterparts. The organization reflects the legal process flow from initial allegations through witness testimonies to formal court petitions.

## Groups Created

- **Brockway_Divorce_Depositions_1759**: Depositions related to Samuel Brockway's divorce case in February 1759, including testimonies about his wife's behavior
- **Brockway_Divorce_Court_Petitions**: Formal petitions and court documents addressed to the Superior Court regarding Brockway's divorce case
- **Brockway_Divorce_Adultery_Allegations_1758**: Documents related to the adultery allegations against Margaret Brockway in 1758, including the main petition
- **Brockway_Divorce_Service_Documents**: Documents showing service of petitions and citations in the Brockway divorce case
- **Brockway_Divorce_Witness_Testimonies_1758**: Witness testimonies from August 1758 regarding Margaret Brockway's behavior and alleged fits

Parent

01KBKZXV1VG457P19T0DSBW8GQ

Children (5)