Newport Freeman and Violet Dickett Marriage Certificate
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:16:20 PM
Added description
Description
Newport Freeman and Violet Dickett Marriage Certificate Collection (1793)
Overview
This collection comprises the original marriage certificate of Newport Freeman, a free Negro man, and Violet Dickett, a free woman, issued on 20 November 1793 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It includes the printed text of the certificate, two high‑resolution scans (JPEG and TIFF), an OCR‑extracted transcription, and accompanying metadata files (PINAX JSON and image reference JSON). The materials are part of the Connecticut State Library’s holdings and are linked to the New Haven County Superior Court Files subject index for Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) cases and papers.Background
The certificate was officiated by Reverend Samuel Hanson, D.D., and transcribed from the town clerk’s record by George Northworth. It records the marriage of two free persons of color, a notable example of early free Black matrimonial documentation in New Hampshire. The document is catalogued under the NHSC BAAI cases papers subject, reflecting its relevance to African American legal history and the broader project to index BAAI‑related court records.Contents
- Textual record: The original marriage certificate text, including the legal declaration and signatures.
- Scanned images: A JPEG (≈378 KB) and a TIFF (≈27 MB) of the certificate, each accompanied by a JSON reference file.
- OCR transcription: Extracted text from the JPEG scan, providing a machine‑readable version of the certificate’s content.
- Metadata: A PINAX JSON file detailing title, creator, date, subjects (Marriage, African American History, New Hampshire, Divorce), language, and place.
- Subject index linkage: The image files are associated with the NHSC BAAI cases papers subject, indicating their inclusion in the broader BAAI database.
Scope
The collection focuses exclusively on the 1793 marriage certificate of Freeman and Dickett and its digital surrogates. It covers the specific event of their marriage in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and does not include other contemporaneous documents or additional couples. The materials are valuable for researchers of free Black history, early New Hampshire legal records, and the Connecticut State Library’s BAAI project.Entities
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Entity Relationships
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Raw Cheimarros Data
@connecticut_state_library:organization {full_name: "Connecticut State Library", type: "state library"}
@new_haven_county_superior_court_files:organization {abbreviation: "NHSC", record_group: 3, institution: @connecticut_state_library}
@baai:concept {full_name: "Black, African American, and Indigenous"}
@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"}
@newport_freeman:person {full_name: "Newport Freeman", ethnicity: "Free Negro", status: "free"}
@violet_dickett:person {full_name: "Violet Dickett", status: "free"}
@reverend_samuel_hanson:person {full_name: "Samuel Hanson", title: "Reverend", degree: "D.D."}
@portsmouth:place {state: @new_hampshire, country: @united_states}
@marriage_certificate:document {title: "Newport Freeman and Violet Dickett Marriage Certificate", creator: @reverend_samuel_hanson, created: @date_1793_11_20, language: "en", subjects: ["Marriage", "African American History", "New Hampshire", "Divorce"], place: [@new_hampshire, @portsmouth]}
@file_pinax:file {filename: "pinax.json", type: "Metadata (PINAX)", description: "Metadata record for the marriage certificate"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_freemannewportviolet_001_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_FreemanNewportViolet_001.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR", description: "Scanned image of the marriage certificate"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_freemannewportviolet_001_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_FreemanNewportViolet_001.tif.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset", description: "TIFF image of the marriage certificate"}
@file_pinax -> documents -> @marriage_certificate
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_freemannewportviolet_001_jpg -> depicts -> @marriage_certificate
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_freemannewportviolet_001_jpg -> belongs to -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_freemannewportviolet_001_tif -> belongs to -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject
@newport_freeman -> married -> @violet_dickett {when: @date_1793_11_20, officiated_by: @reverend_samuel_hanson}
@reverend_samuel_hanson -> officiated -> @marriage_certificate {when: @date_1793_11_20}
@new_haven_county_superior_court_files -> part of -> @connecticut_state_library
@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject -> related to -> @baai
@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject -> part of -> @new_haven_county_superior_court_filesMetadata
Files (2)
RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_FreemanNewportViolet_001.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Newport, a Free Negro Man and Dickett a Free Woman, have been published in this Town according to Law, and Married November 20, 1793, by the Reverend Samuel Hanson - D.D. State of New Hampshire Rochingham T. & - Portsmouth Aug. 1st 18 A True Copy transcribed from the Record George Northworth Town Clerk
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:16:20 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:37:16 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:38:17 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:28:01 AM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Marriage_Certificate_Documents"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)