RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_001.jpg

Daniel Clark Divorce Petition Collection

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:15:45 PM

Added description

Description

Daniel Clark Divorce Petition Collection (1770)

Overview

The Daniel Clark Divorce Petition Collection is a digitized assemblage of legal documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, filed on 8 November 1770. It contains the original petition of Daniel Clark, Esq., against his wife Abigail Norton (later Abigail Clarke), and related archival images and metadata. The collection is part of the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County court project, which focuses on Black, African American, and Indigenous history (BAAI).

Background

In colonial Connecticut, divorce petitions were rare and required a formal court filing. Daniel Clark, a resident of Wallingford, sought dissolution of his marriage on grounds of infidelity and the birth of a mixed‑race child. The petition cites the child, a mulatto, born to Abigail Norton and a man named Lebulon Potter. The case illustrates early legal attitudes toward race, marriage, and property rights in New Haven County and reflects the broader BAAI initiative to document court cases involving African American and Indigenous individuals.

Contents

  • Primary Document: The 1770 petition, titled “Petition of Daniel Clark,” filed at the New Haven County Superior Court.
  • Images: Two high‑resolution JPEGs (RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceClarkHorton001 & 003) and two TIFF scans (RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceClarkHorton001 & 003) of the petition, each accompanied by OCR text.
  • Metadata: A PINAX JSON file providing structured information (creator, date, subjects, location).
  • Indexing Field: The collection is indexed by the NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject field, linking it to the broader database of BAAI cases in New Haven County.

Scope

The collection covers a single legal action in 1770, situated in New Haven County (court in New Haven, petitioner from Wallingford, spouse from Hartford County). It documents the petition’s claims—infidelity, birth of a mulatto child, and request for divorce—without including subsequent court proceedings or judgments. The material is relevant to scholars of colonial law, race relations, and the history of divorce in New England.

Entities

(loading...)

Entity Relationships

(loading...)

Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {filename: "pinax.json", file_type: "Metadata (PINAX)"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_001_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_001.jpg.ref.json", file_type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_003_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_003.jpg.ref.json", file_type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_001_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_001.tif.ref.json", file_type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_003_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_003.tif.ref.json", file_type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}


@connecticut_state_library:organization {full_name: "Connecticut State Library"}

@connecticut:place {country: @united_states}

@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut}

@new_haven_county_superior_court:place {name: "New Haven County Superior Court", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county, state: @connecticut}

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

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


@daniel_clark:person {full_name: "Daniel Clark", role: "Petitioner", occupation: "Esquire"}

@abigail_norton:person {full_name: "Abigail Norton", relation: "Spouse"}

@abigail_clarke:person {full_name: "Abigail Clarke", relation: "Spouse"} 

@lebulon_potter:person {full_name: "Lebulon Potter", ethnicity: "Mulatto"}


@divorce_petition:document {title: "Petition of Daniel Clark", date: @date_1770_11_08, type: "Divorce Petition"}

@collection_daniel_clark_divorce:collection {title: "Daniel Clark Divorce Petition Collection", creator: @daniel_clark, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1770_11_08, subjects: ["Divorce","Marriage","Infidelity","Mulatto","Legal Petitions","New Haven County Superior Court","Black, African American, and Indigenous History"]}


@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:field {description: "Subject-index field for Black, African American, and Indigenous cases and papers in New Haven County Superior Court files"}


@file_pinax -> documents -> @collection_daniel_clark_divorce:collection


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_001_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition:document


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_003_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition:document


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_001_tif -> depicts -> @divorce_petition:document


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_003_tif -> depicts -> @divorce_petition:document


@divorce_petition -> filed by -> @daniel_clark


@divorce_petition -> against -> @abigail_norton


@divorce_petition -> mentions -> @lebulon_potter


@divorce_petition -> filed at -> @new_haven_county_superior_court


@divorce_petition -> location -> @wallingford


@collection_daniel_clark_divorce -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

Metadata

Files (4)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_001.jpgJPEG
448.32 KB
OCR Text

To the Honble Sup Court to be held by Adj Gov on the first Tuesday of Decbr next at New Haven in New Haven County. The Petition of Daniel Clark of Wallingford in S. County humbly sheweth That about 12 years ago your Honor's Petter was carefully joined in Marriage with one Abigail Norton of Hadson in Hartford County with whom he lived in the due Discharge of the Duties of the Marriage Covenant yet so Abigail hath behaved unwisely & in a most perfidious manner defile the Marriage Bed, having been delivered of a Mulatto female Child about the 16th day of November Instant begotten on her Body by one Lebulon Potter a Mulatto as it is now residing in said Town. Whereupon your Honor's Petter humbly prays your Honor would grant him a Bill of Divorce from said Abigail & release him from all the Obligations he was laid under to Her by force of the Marriage Covenant aforesd. & he as in duty bound shall ever Pray Wallingford Novr 8th 1770 Daniel Clark

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_ClarkHorton_003.jpgJPEG
324.07 KB
OCR Text

Petition of No 71 Daniel Clark Esq. Abigail Clarke 1770 Bett Gmld

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:15:45 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:35:47 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:37:58 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:27:50 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Divorce_Petition_DanielClark_1770"

Parent

01KBKZXDNAXP4YBGTV4XKXFFH4

No children (leaf entity)