RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Executions_RexvsLemon_001.jpg

Execution Warrant Documents for Lemon, a Negro Man Slave

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:18:53 PM

Added description

Description

Execution Warrant Documents for Lemon, a Negro Man Slave (1774)

Overview

This collection comprises the primary documents related to the execution warrant issued against Lemon, a Negro slave, by the New Haven County Superior Court on May 5, 1774. The materials include the original warrant, a high‑resolution TIFF scan, and a JPEG image of the same document, all preserved by the Connecticut State Library. The collection is catalogued under the NHSC BAAI Cases Papers Subject index, which groups New Haven Superior Court files concerning Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals.

Background

In the mid‑18th century, slavery was legally sanctioned in Connecticut, and the courts routinely adjudicated cases involving enslaved persons. Lemon, enslaved by John Dyes of Wallingford, was convicted of attempting to rape an Indigenous child in St. Wallingford. The case was heard before a special Superior Court convened in New Haven. The warrant, signed by clerk Geo. Delham, orders Lemon’s execution by hanging followed by a public whipping at the New Haven marketplace, a punishment typical for serious offenses against Indigenous people and enslaved individuals.

Contents

  • Execution Warrant (1774‑05‑05) – The original parchment document, detailing the sentence, execution method, and post‑execution penalties.
  • JPEG Image (RG003NHSCBAAIPSExecutionsRexvsLemon001.jpg) – A scanned photograph of the warrant, annotated with OCR text.
  • TIFF Scan (RG003NHSCBAAIPSExecutionsRexvsLemon001.tif) – A high‑resolution, archival‑grade image suitable for detailed study.
  • Metadata – Includes creator (New Haven County Superior Court), institution (Connecticut State Library), language (English), and subject headings (execution warrants, slave punishment, criminal cases, rape, African American history, Indigenous history, New Haven County, 18th century).

Scope

The collection covers a single criminal case from 1774, situated in New Haven and Wallingford, Connecticut. It documents the legal procedures surrounding the execution of a slave convicted of a violent crime against an Indigenous child. The materials are relevant to scholars of early American criminal justice, slavery, and Indigenous‑African American relations in New England. The collection does not include ancillary court filings, witness statements, or post‑execution records beyond the warrant itself.

Entities

(loading...)

Entity Relationships

(loading...)

Raw Cheimarros Data

@execution_warrant_documents_for_lemon:collection {title: "Execution Warrant Documents for Lemon, a Negro Man Slave", creator: @new_haven_county_superior_court, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1774_05_05, language: "en", subjects: ["Execution warrants", "Slave punishment", "Criminal cases", "Rape", "African American history", "Indigenous history", "New Haven County", "18th century"], description: "Documents related to the execution warrant for Lemon, a Negro man slave, convicted of attempting to commit rape on an Indian female child in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1774."}


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


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


@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {type: "court", jurisdiction: @new_haven, role: "creator of collection"}


@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "library", location: @new_haven}


@lemon:person {status: "slave", race: "Negro", gender: "male", enslaved_by: @john_dyes, convicted_of: "attempted rape", victim: @indian_female_child, conviction_date: @date_1774_05_05, execution_date: @date_1774_05_05, location: [@new_haven, @wallingford]}


@john_dyes:person {occupation: "slave owner", residence: @wallingford}


@indian_female_child:person {age: "about 4", ethnicity: "Indigenous", gender: "female"}


@delham_clerk:person {role: "clerk", signature: "Geo: Delham Clerk"}


@execution_warrant_lemon:document {type: "execution warrant", date: @date_1774_05_05, issuer: @new_haven_county_superior_court, subject: @lemon, location: @new_haven, description: "Warrant ordering Lemon's execution by hanging and whipping at the New Haven market place."}


@execution_of_lemon:event {date: @date_1774_05_05, location: @new_haven, method: "hanging followed by public whipping", participants: [@lemon, @delham_clerk]}


@lemon -> sentenced to -> @execution_of_lemon {by: @new_haven_county_superior_court, warrant: @execution_warrant_lemon}


@file_pinax -> documents -> @execution_warrant_documents_for_lemon


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_rexvslemon_001_jpg -> depicts -> @execution_warrant_lemon


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_rexvslemon_001_jpg -> part of -> @execution_warrant_documents_for_lemon


@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_rexvslemon_001_tif -> part of -> @execution_warrant_documents_for_lemon


@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."}

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Executions_RexvsLemon_001.jpgJPEG
448.33 KB
OCR Text

To the Sheriff of the County of New Haven or his Deputy Greeting: Whereas one Lemon, a Negro man slave for life to John Dyes of Wallingford in said county was Legally convicted of an Attempt to Commit a Rape upon an Indian female child of the age of about 4 years old in St. Wallingford. Before a Special Superior Court held at New Haven on the 5th Day of May 1774, and was by the Consideration of the Judges of said Superior Court sentenced and directed to Sit on the Gallows with a Rope about his Neck on the 2nd Morning and Morning and then taken down a tale of a Cart and So Conducted to one of the Corners of the Market place in said New Haven So called and then be Whipt on his Naked body ten Strokes, and at two other of the Corners of said Market place Ten Strokes each at the fourth Corner he must Run Nine Strokes as aforesaid, all which of the fines and Rents of said Superior Court appears whereof Beaumon Remains to be paid. These are therefore in Majesty's Name to thee and command that forthwith you have him the said Lemon forth of the Goal and Cause to be taken to the place of Execution and there and there be Set on the Gallows with a Rope about his Neck the end thereof thrown over the same and then be taken down and to the tail of a Cart so Conducted to the Market place of in said New Haven and at three of the Corners of said Market place him Cause to be Whipt on his Naked Body ten Strokes at each of said Corners and at the fourth Corners him Cause to Run Nine Strokes. To what purpose this Shall be your Suffrage Warrant whereby you may in no wise fail but of this Writ will your doing thereon I do hereby make due Return; I am at New Haven May 5th A.D. 1774. Geo: Delham Clerk

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:18:53 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:45:47 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:39:48 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:30:40 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Execution_Warrant_Documents"

Parent

01KBKZY1S2XKJ0FRN7PFCC43H6

No children (leaf entity)