Execution Writ: Platt vs. Lanson
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:18:50 PM
Added description
Description
Execution Writ: Platt vs. Lanson
Overview
This archival unit contains the original 1841 execution writ issued by the New Haven Superior Court, the associated digital image and TIFF scan, and an OCR‑derived text file. The documents record the court’s order to the Sheriff of New Haven County to levy the debtor’s property or imprison him for a judgment debt of $94.19 owed by William Lanson to creditor Esther M. Platt. The unit is catalogued under the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County Superior Court (NHSC) collection, specifically within the “Black, African American, and Indigenous History” (BAAI) subject index for court cases and papers.Background
The writ was drafted by James H. Townsend, Assistant Clerk, on March 23, 1841, following a judgment rendered on October 2, 1841. It reflects 19th‑century Connecticut debt‑collection practices, wherein a court‑issued writ authorized local law‑enforcement officers to seize a debtor’s goods or detain him until the judgment was satisfied. The case illustrates the legal mechanisms available to creditors in the New Haven region during the early 1800s and is part of a broader effort to digitize and index court records that involve African American and Indigenous litigants.Contents
- Text file (JSON): metadata and a concise description of the writ, including parties, amount, and jurisdiction.
- OCR text file: a machine‑readable transcription of the handwritten writ.
- JPEG image: a high‑resolution photograph of the original parchment, showing the court’s seal, signatures, and the sheriff’s instructions.
- TIFF image: a lossless scan of the same document, suitable for archival preservation.
- Metadata: links to related entities (court, parties, place) and the NHSC BAAI subject index.
Scope
The unit covers a single legal instrument dated March 23, 1841, pertaining to a debt‑collection case in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is relevant to scholars of 19th‑century legal history, debt enforcement, and the social history of the New Haven region. The collection does not include subsequent court filings, debtor correspondence, or related property records.Entities
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Entity Relationships
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Raw Cheimarros Data
@execution_writ_platt_vs_lanson:document {title: "Execution Writ: Platt vs. Lanson", date: @date_1841_03_23, creator: @james_h_townsend, creditor: @esther_m_platt, debtor: @william_lanson, court: @new_haven_superior_court, amount: "94.19", fee: "0.25", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county, language: "en"}
@james_h_townsend:person {full_name: "James H. Townsend", role: "Assistant Clerk"}
@esther_m_platt:person {full_name: "Esther M. Platt", role: "Creditor"}
@william_lanson:person {full_name: "William Lanson", role: "Debtor"}
@new_haven:place {county: @new_haven_county, state: @connecticut}
@orange:place {county: @new_haven_county, state: @connecticut}
@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_superior_court:organization {type: "Superior Court", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county}
@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "State Library", location: @connecticut}
@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 -> @execution_writ_platt_vs_lanson
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_plattvslanson_001_jpg -> depicts -> @execution_writ_platt_vs_lanson
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_plattvslanson_001_jpg -> OCR -> @ocr_text_platt_vs_lanson:document {excerpt: "To the Sheriff of New Haven, ... Dated at New Haven, this 23d day of March A.D. 1841 James H. Townsend, Assistant Clerk"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_executions_plattvslanson_001_tif -> image of -> @execution_writ_platt_vs_lanson
@execution_writ_platt_vs_lanson -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subjectMetadata
Files (2)
OCR Text
To the Sheriff of New Haven, County, his Deputy, or either of the Canstables of the Town of New Haven in said County, Greeting: Whereas, Esther M. Platt of Orange in said County recovered judgment against William Lanson of said New Haven before the Superior County Court, holden at the City of New Haven, within and for the County of New Haven, on the 2nd Tuesday of October 1841 for the sum of 79 dollars, 75 cts. damages; and for the sum of 14 dollars, 44 cts., costs of suit, as appears of record; whereof execution remains to be done: These are, therefore, by Authority of the State of Connecticut, to command you, that of the Goods, Chattels, or Lands of the said debtor within your precincts, you cause to be levied, and the same being disposed of or appraised as the Law directs, paid and satisfied unto the said creditor the aforesaid sums, being 94 Dollars 19 Cents in the whole, with 25 Cents more for this Writ, and thereof also to satisfy yourself your own fees. And for want of such Goods, Chattels, or Lands of the said debtor to be by him shown unto you or found within your precincts, to the acceptance of said creditor for the satisfying of the aforesaid sums, you are hereby commanded to take the body of the said debtor and him commit unto the keeper of the Gaol in New Haven in the County of New Haven aforesaid, within said prison; who is likewise hereby commanded to receive the said debtor and him safely keep until he pay unto the said creditor the full sums above mentioned, and be by him released, and also to satisfy your own fees. Hereof fail not, but make due return of this Writ, with your doings thereon, according to law, within sixty days next coming.—Dated at New Haven, this 23d day of March A.D. 1841 James H. Townsend, Assistant Clerk
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:18:50 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:45:51 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:39:52 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:30:55 AM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Execution_Writ_Platt_vs_Lanson"
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