New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Petition Documents
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:17:14 PM
Added description
Description
New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Petition Documents
Overview
This is a digital collection of divorce petition documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, created in the early colonial period of Connecticut. The collection is held by the Connecticut State Library and is part of the NHSC BAAI (Black, African American, and Indigenous History) project, which indexes court files that involve Black, African American, or Indigenous individuals. The collection is presented in English and includes high‑resolution images of the original petition.Background
The New Haven Superior Court was the primary judicial body for the county of New Haven in the 18th century. In 1773, the court processed a divorce petition filed by Ruth Roberts against her husband, Charles Roberts. The petition is significant both as a legal record of early colonial divorce proceedings and as a source for the study of African American and Indigenous legal history in Connecticut. The Connecticut State Library’s NHSC BAAI project digitizes and indexes such documents to support scholarship on the experiences of marginalized communities in colonial America.Contents
- Divorce Petition of Ruth Roberts (filed February 22, 1773). The petition details the marriage of Ruth and Charles in December 1753, the husband's abandonment and alleged infamy, and requests a bill of divorce under colonial law.
- Digital images of the petition: a JPEG (RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceRoberts003.jpg) and a TIFF (RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceRoberts003.tif), both containing OCR‑extracted text.
- Metadata linking the petition to the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers Subject index, indicating its relevance to Black, African American, and Indigenous history.
- Supporting documentation in the form of a PINAX metadata file and a reference to the image files.
Scope
The collection covers a single divorce petition from the New Haven County Superior Court, dated February 22, 1773. It represents a broader set of court filings that the NHSC BAAI project is cataloguing, but the current collection is limited to this petition. The geographic focus is New Haven County, Connecticut, and the temporal scope is the early colonial period (mid‑18th century). The subject matter includes divorce law, marital abandonment, and the legal status of Black and Indigenous individuals in colonial Connecticut. The collection does not include other court documents, such as summonses or judgments, beyond the petition itself.Entities
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Entity Relationships
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Raw Cheimarros Data
@ruth_roberts:person {full_name: "Ruth Roberts"}
@charles_roberts:person {full_name: "Charles Roberts"}
@connecticut:place {country: @united_states}
@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_superior_court:organization {type: "Superior Court", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county}
@file_pinax:file {filename: "pinax.json", type: "Metadata (PINAX)"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_roberts_003_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_Roberts_003.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@divorce_petition_roberts:document {title: "Divorce Petition of Ruth Roberts", petitioner: @ruth_roberts, respondent: @charles_roberts, petition_date: @date_1773_02_22, marriage_date: @date_1753_12, description: "Petition to the New Haven Superior Court for divorce from Charles Roberts."}
@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject-index field for New Haven County Superior Court files concerning Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals."}
@divorce_petition_documents:collection {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Divorce Petition Documents", creator: @ruth_roberts, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1773_02_22, language: "en", subjects: ["Divorce", "Legal documents", "New Haven County", "Superior Court", "18th century", "Black, African American, and Indigenous History"], description: "Collection of divorce petition documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, including a petition by Ruth Roberts dated February 22, 1773.", place: [@new_haven, @new_haven_county]}
@connecticut_state_library:organization {full_name: "Connecticut State Library"}
@divorce_petition_documents -> includes -> @divorce_petition_roberts
@divorce_petition_documents -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject
@divorce_petition_documents -> held by -> @connecticut_state_library
@divorce_petition_roberts -> filed in -> @new_haven_superior_court
@divorce_petition_roberts -> mentioned in -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_roberts_003_jpg
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_roberts_003_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition_roberts
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_roberts_003_jpg -> part of -> @divorce_petition_documentsMetadata
Files (2)
RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_Roberts_003.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
To the Honourable Superior Court to be convened at New Haven in the County of New Haven on the Left Sunday of Feb 27th Instant— The Petition of Ruth Roberts of said New Haven humbly sheweth— That your PET was lawfully married to Charles Roberts in December A.D. 1753 with whom she lived some time; & until Sr. Charles having exposed himself to infamy by unwarrantable practices, about seven years from this time, departed out of this country & went over sea & hath ever since continued abroad, & Sr. Charles during the whole of Sr. time, hath wholly neglected your PET & made no provision for her support or maintenance, & but hath left her unprovided for, I deserted her during Sr. time—& Sr. Charles, hath been as your PET hath been imprisoned, hath entered into the Bands of Matrimony abroad. Whereupon your PET humbly prays your Honours to pass and have a Bill of Divorce according to the Law of this Colony in such case made & provided & she as in Duty bound shall ever pray on Date at New Haven the 22 Day of Feb'y A.D. 1773— Signed Ruth Roberts by Request
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:17:14 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:39:54 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:38:46 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:08 AM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Divorce_Petition_Documents"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)