Deposition of Ruth Merriman, 1770
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:15:53 PM
Added description
Description
Deposition of Ruth Merriman, 1770
Overview
This item is a scanned deposition of Ruth Merriman, widow of Daniel Merriman, sworn on December 13, 1770 in Wallingford, Connecticut. The deposition is part of the New Haven County Superior Court files and is indexed under the NHSC BAAI “Cases Papers Subject” collection, which catalogs court documents related to Black, African American, and Indigenous matters. The digital files include a high‑resolution TIFF and a JPEG with OCR text.Background
Ruth Merriman provided testimony concerning the childbirth of Mrs. Daniel Clark, wife of Daniel Clark, on November 10, 1770. The deposition was notarized by Tom Johnson, an appointed notary of the local court. It was recorded in the context of a divorce proceeding involving the Clark family, a common type of case in the 18th‑century New Haven County court system. The document is a primary source for legal historians, genealogists, and scholars of early American family life.Contents
- Text: The deposition recounts the circumstances of the birth, the mother’s condition, the child’s appearance, and the handling of the newborn. It notes that the child was believed dead by the mother, that Ruth Merriman did not see the child alive, and that the child was later found to be alive.
- Metadata: The record lists subjects such as “Divorce,” “Childbirth,” “Testimony,” “Legal documents,” and geographic tags “Wallingford” and “New Haven County.”
- Images: A JPEG scan (OCR‑enabled) and a TIFF scan provide the original hand‑written text.
Scope
The deposition covers a single sworn statement from 1770, situated in the broader context of 18th‑century New Haven County civil litigation. It is relevant to studies of early American family law, gender roles, and community practices surrounding childbirth. The item is part of the Connecticut State Library’s digital holdings and is available for research under the NHSC BAAI subject index.Entities
(loading...)
Entity Relationships
(loading...)
Raw Cheimarros Data
@deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770:document {date: @date_1770_12_13, creator: @ruth_merriman, institution: @connecticut_state_library, subjects: [@divorce, @childbirth, @testimony, @legal_documents, @eighteenth_century, @wallingford, @new_haven_county]}
@ruth_merriman:person {full_name: "Ruth Merriman", gender: "female", status: "widow"}
@daniel_merriman:person {full_name: "Daniel Merriman"}
@daniel_clark:person {full_name: "Daniel Clark"}
@mrs_daniel_clark:person {full_name: "Mrs. Daniel Clark", role: "wife"}
@tom_johnson:person {full_name: "Tom Johnson", role: "Notary"}
@potter:person {full_name: "Potter", role: "neighbor"}
@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "state library"}
@wallingford:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject-index field for New Haven County Superior Court files concerning Black, African American, and Indigenous cases and papers"}
@file_pinax -> documents -> @deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_004_jpg -> depicts -> @deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770 {format: "jpg", ocr: true}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_clarkhorton_004_tif -> depicts -> @deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770 {format: "tif"}
@ruth_merriman -> gave testimony in -> @deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770
@ruth_merriman -> widow of -> @daniel_merriman
@ruth_merriman -> delivered child for -> @mrs_daniel_clark
@mrs_daniel_clark -> wife of -> @daniel_clark
@tom_johnson -> notarized -> @deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770 {role: "Notary"}
@potter -> inquired about -> @mrs_daniel_clark
@deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770 -> location -> @wallingford
@deposition_of_ruth_merriman_1770 -> subject field -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subjectMetadata
Files (2)
OCR Text
The testimony of Ruth Merriman, widow of Daniel Merriman of Wallingford of lawful age, testifies and says that about the 10th day of November last past, a Saturday before Thanksgiving, I being called to the wife of Mr. Daniel Clark to deliver her of child birth, I went to the house about sum half an hour high and the woman was delivered between daylight and dark and just before the child was born she desire me to give her something she wanted to have it over before Clark came home and dispatched because she said the child was dead. I did not believe it had any life in it nor never saw it has and when the child was come I thought the woman went with the child when I saw the child seven month and half and when the child was born there was one woman with me with said Clark's wife and Clark's wife insisted the thing should be kept private and not let the people no any about the affair and at the time when she was delivered the girl in the kitchen till one Potter came in and inquired how Clark's wife did and she told him she was delivered for she heard the child cry and Potter went off quickly and by the hair and colour of the child I did not it was an English child and further say not. Ruth Merriman Wallingford December 13, 1770 Then personally appeared Mrs. Ruth Merriman the above deponent and made oath to the truth of the above deposition before me Tom Johnson Just Peace Notary Adj Sup Court Decemb'r 2nd 1770 Open'd in Court F G Bushin Clerk
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:15:53 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:35:51 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:37:59 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:27:53 AM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Deposition_RuthMerriman_1770"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)