Deposition of Mary Brockitt in Adkins Divorce Case
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:15:21 PM
Added description
Description
Mary Brockitt Deposition Collection (Adkins Divorce Case, 1771)
Overview
This collection contains the deposition of Mary Brockitt, sworn on 27 February 1771 as part of the Adkins Divorce Case before the New Haven Superior Court. It includes the original text, two digitized images (JPEG and TIFF), and associated metadata. The deposition addresses the paternity of a child in a divorce proceeding involving Elizabeth Parker and Joseph Adkins and contains remarks on racial identity.Background
The deposition was administered by John Hall, clerk of the New Haven Superior Court, and recorded in the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County Superior Court files. It is part of the NHSC_BAAI project, which focuses on Black, African American, and Indigenous history within New Haven County court records. The case reflects early‑18th‑century legal practices concerning divorce and the social construction of race.Contents
- Text: Mary Brockitt testifies that she was called to assist Elizabeth Parker in a dispute over a child’s paternity. Brockitt reports that the child was white, contrary to Parker’s claim that it was Black, and that the father was Joseph Adkins.
- Images: Two high‑resolution scans (JPEG and TIFF) preserve the original parchment, including the oath administered by John Hall and the court’s notation of the deposition’s receipt.
- Metadata: The collection is catalogued under the NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject index, indicating its relevance to racial identity, divorce, and legal history in New Haven County.
Scope
The collection covers a single deposition dated 27 February 1771, located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is relevant to scholars of early American legal history, gender studies, and race relations. The deposition is a primary source for the Adkins Divorce Case and illustrates the intersection of family law and racial categorization in colonial Connecticut. The collection does not include the full court record of the case, only the deposition and its associated images.Entities
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Entity Relationships
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Raw Cheimarros Data
@mary_brockitt:person {full_name: "Mary Brockitt", role: "deponent"}
@elizabeth_parker:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Parker", role: "plaintiff"}
@joseph_adkins:person {full_name: "Joseph Adkins", role: "defendant"}
@new_haven:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_sup_court:organization {type: "Superior Court", location: @new_haven}
@john_hall:person {full_name: "John Hall", role: "clerk"}
@deposition_mary_brockitt:document {title: "Deposition of Mary Brockitt in Adkins Divorce Case", creator: @mary_brockitt, created: @date_1771_02_27, language: "en", subjects: ["Divorce", "Testimony", "Racial Identity", "Legal History", "New Haven County"], description: "Deposition regarding the paternity of a child in a divorce case involving Elizabeth Parker and Joseph Adkins.", location: @new_haven}
@adkins_divorce_case:event {type: "Divorce", parties: [@elizabeth_parker, @joseph_adkins], jurisdiction: @new_haven_sup_court, date: @date_1771_06, description: "Divorce case concerning paternity of a child."}
@racial_identity:concept {definition: "Social construct of race and its implications in legal contexts"}
@divorce:concept {definition: "Legal dissolution of marriage"}
@file_pinax:file {type: "metadata", format: "pinax", title: "Deposition of Mary Brockitt in Adkins Divorce Case"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_adkins_002_jpg:file {type: "image", format: "jpg", contains: @deposition_mary_brockitt}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_adkins_002_tif:file {type: "image", format: "tif", contains: @deposition_mary_brockitt}
@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject index field for New Haven County Superior Court files involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals"}
@project_nhsc_baai:project {code: "NHSC_BAAI_Cases_Papers_Subject", focus: "Black, African American, and Indigenous history", related_field: @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject}
@mary_brockitt -> gave deposition -> @deposition_mary_brockitt {when: @date_1771_02_27, where: @new_haven}
@deposition_mary_brockitt -> concerns -> @adkins_divorce_case
@deposition_mary_brockitt -> mentions -> @racial_identity
@deposition_mary_brockitt -> mentions -> @divorce
@john_hall -> administered oath to -> @mary_brockitt {date: @date_1771_02_27}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_adkins_002_jpg -> contains -> @deposition_mary_brockitt
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_adkins_002_tif -> contains -> @deposition_mary_brockitt
@deposition_mary_brockitt -> stored in -> @connecticut_state_library
@project_nhsc_baai -> uses field -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subjectMetadata
Files (2)
RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_Adkins_002.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
The Deposition of miss Mary Brockitt of Lawfull age testifies and says that about five years ago I was called to help Elizabeth Parker and examine her in the time of her Distress where the Child was and she said she could not tell but it would be a Black one, but if it was a white child she said it was Joseph Adkins, and it was a white child and Mary Brockitt Walling Feb. 27th Day 1771 then personally appeared the above Deponant and made oath to the truth of the above Deposition Before me John Hall Just Peace New Haven Sup Court July 7 June 1771 Oprn recd and P G Bithin Clerk
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:15:21 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:34:28 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:37:38 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:26:46 AM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Deposition_Mary_Brockitt"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)