New Haven County Superior Court Black, African American, and Indigenous History Collection, 1743

Version: 9 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:17:11 PM

Added description

Description

Rhode Island Oath Documents Collection, 1743

Overview

The Rhode Island Oath Documents Collection, 1743 is a digitized set of legal‑oath records produced on August 6 1743. It contains a single divorce oath sworn by Phineas Moses and Sarah Eberly, both residents of Chilford, Connecticut, yet identified as living in Newport, Rhode Island. The collection is preserved as high‑resolution JPEG and TIFF scans, accompanied by OCR‑derived text and structured metadata in the PINAX format. It is part of the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County Superior Court holdings and is indexed under the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers Subject series, which focuses on Black, African American, and Indigenous legal history.

Background

In mid‑18th‑century New England, civil matters such as divorce required parties to swear oaths before a Justice of the Peace. The oath in this collection was witnessed by John Gill, a Justice of the Peace, and executed in Chilford, Connecticut, reflecting the cross‑jurisdictional nature of colonial governance. The document is a primary source illustrating the procedural norms of colonial courts and the legal experiences of individuals connected to both Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Contents

  • Divorce Oath (RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceMorgan025) – parchment oath sworn by Phineas Moses and Sarah Eberly, declaring marital status and divorce circumstances.
  • Digital reproductions – a JPEG image for quick reference and a TIFF file for archival‑grade detail.
  • OCR‑text embedded in the images for searchable content.
  • PINAX metadata detailing event participants, dates, and subject terms.

Scope

The collection covers a single legal oath dated August 6 1743, focusing on divorce proceedings. Geographically, it involves Chilford, Connecticut, and Newport, Rhode Island. Thematic coverage includes divorce law and colonial oath‑taking practices. The collection does not contain other oath documents, court transcripts, or related filings; it is limited to this one oath and its digital reproductions.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@nhsc_baai_1743_collection:collection {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Black, African American, and Indigenous History Collection, 1743", creator: [@abraham_kimberly, @mary_hooker, @ann_parnell, @mary_kimberly, @theophilus_morgan, @thomas_morgan, @elizabeth_t_smith, @jaste_edward_clark, @eliz_lewis_esq, @phineas_moses, @sarah_eberly], institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: "1742-1743", language: "en", subjects: ["Divorce","Domestic Violence","Testimonies","Legal Documents","New Haven County Superior Court","Oaths","Marriage","Desertion","Black, African American, and Indigenous History"], description: "A collection of court documents, testimonies, and oaths from the New Haven County Superior Court in 1743, including divorce cases and related legal proceedings involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals.", place: [@guilford, @rhode_island, @new_haven_county, @new_haven, @newport_ri, @chilford_ct]}

@file_pinax -> describes -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @morgan_divorce_testimonies_collection

@file_pinax -> documents -> @theophilus_morgan_divorce_collection

@rhode_island_oath_documents_collection:collection {title: "Rhode Island Oath Documents Collection, 1743", creator: [@phineas_moses, @sarah_eberly], institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1743_08_06, subjects: ["Oaths","Legal documents","Divorce","Newport (Rhode Island)","Chilford (Connecticut)"], place: [@newport_ri, @chilford_ct]}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @rhode_island_oath_documents_collection

@abraham_kimberly -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@mary_hooker -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@ann_parnell -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@mary_kimberly -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@theophilus_morgan -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@thomas_morgan -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@elizabeth_t_smith -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@jaste_edward_clark -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@eliz_lewis_esq -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@phineas_moses -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@sarah_eberly -> contributed to -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@theophilus_morgan -> involved in -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@phineas_moses -> involved in -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@sarah_eberly -> involved in -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@jaste_edward_clark -> involved in -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@eliz_lewis_esq -> involved in -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

@nhsc_baai_1743_collection -> subject -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@nhsc_baai_1743_collection -> aggregates -> [@morgan_divorce_testimonies_collection, @theophilus_morgan_divorce_collection, @rhode_island_oath_documents_collection]

@court_session_1743:event -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_1743_collection

Metadata

Version History (9 versions)

  • ✓ v9 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:17:11 PM
    "Added description"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 2:40:40 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 6:38:55 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 6:31:05 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 4 groups"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 6:31:04 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0X7NG9RRACPV3C9N2SQRY"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 6:31:02 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0X5RRQRMM33QPDS4GFAXP"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 6:31:00 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0X4ABFPX35QB28Z2J5JSQ"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:30:59 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBM0X2QS9QBXDB61E9V7R1H2"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:14 AM · View this version
    "Alphabetical chunk 2/2 (14 files)"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Files were grouped thematically based on their content and context within Theophilus Morgan's 1742-1743 divorce proceedings. Primary groupings reflect (1) witness testimonies about abuse/desertion, (2) official court petitions and citations, (3) Superior Court session records, and (4) Rhode Island depositions. Each group pairs textual documents with their corresponding image/ref files. The strategy prioritizes historical narrative coherence over technical formats (e.g., separating testimonies from procedural documents despite shared filetypes).

## Groups Created

- **Morgan_Divorce_Testimonies_1743**: Files containing sworn testimonies regarding Theophilus Morgan's divorce case, primarily from Guilford in 1743, detailing allegations of abuse and desertion.
- **Morgan_Divorce_Court_Documents_1743**: Official court filings related to Theophilus Morgan's divorce petition, including citations and the original petition submitted to the New Haven Superior Court in 1742/43.
- **NewHaven_Court_Session_1743**: Documents referencing the October 1743 session of the New Haven Superior Court, including appearances and procedural notes.
- **RhodeIsland_Oath_Documents_1743**: Sworn statements from Newport, Rhode Island (July 1743) related to the Morgan divorce case, including oaths by Phineas Moses and Sarah Eberly.

Parent

01KBKZYPY7ESND9E16DN61TQQA

Children (4)