RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Branford_001.jpg

Jupiter Branford Inquest Documents

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:19:39 PM

Added description

Description

Jupiter Branford Inquest Documents

Overview

The Jupiter Branford Inquest Documents is a primary‑source collection held by the Connecticut State Library. It comprises the official report and jury verdict from the inquest held on April 9, 1742, into the death of Jupiter, a Negro‑boy of Jacob Ropes, who was found hanged in Branford, Connecticut. The collection is presented in English and is dated to the exact day of the inquest. It includes two scanned images of the original report (with OCR text) and a metadata file in PINAX format that records the collection’s provenance and structure.

Background

In the early colonial period, inquests were the legal mechanism for determining the circumstances of a death. This case is significant because it records the first known legal proceeding involving an African‑American individual in colonial Connecticut. The Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County court project, part of the NHSC BAAI (Black, African American, and Indigenous) initiative, has digitized and indexed this material to support research on early African‑American legal history.

Contents

  • Report of Inquest on Jupiter Negro (original text, scanned as two JPEG images).
  • Jury Verdict indicating the conclusion of suicide by hanging.
  • List of Jurors: Dan. Barker, James Hulse, Amos Johnson, William Fancher, Bow Smith, Abraham Mullen, John Weston, Abraham Page, Caleb Evans, Oliver Fisher, Benjamin Weston, Daniel Conkling.
  • Metadata (PINAX JSON) detailing creator names, institution, language, subjects, and relationships to the inquest event, the deceased, and the jurors.

Scope

The collection covers a single event—April 9, 1742—in Branford, Connecticut. It documents the legal process surrounding a death that was deemed a suicide by hanging. The material is relevant to scholars of colonial legal history, African‑American studies, and the social history of early New England. It does not include subsequent court filings or broader criminal proceedings beyond the inquest itself.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@jupiter_branford_inquest_documents:collection {title: "Jupiter Branford Inquest Documents", created: @date_1742_04_09, institution: @connecticut_state_library, language: "en", description: "Documents related to the inquest of Jupiter, a Negro‑Boy of Jacob Ropes of Branford, who was found dead by hanging on April 9 1742."}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {full_name: "Connecticut State Library"}

@branford:place {state: "Connecticut", country: "United States"}

@jupiter:person {race: "African American", description: "Negro‑Boy found dead by hanging in 1742"}

@jacob_ropes:person {full_name: "Jacob Ropes"}

@inquest_event:event {description: "Inquest into the death of Jupiter Negro", when: @date_1742_04_09, where: @branford}

@jupiter -> son of -> @jacob_ropes

@jupiter -> subject of -> @inquest_event

@inquest_event -> jurors -> [@dan_barker, @james_hulse, @amos_johnson, @william_fancher, @bow_smith, @abraham_mullen, @john_weston, @abraham_page, @caleb_evans, @oliver_fisher, @benjamin_weston, @daniel_conkling]

@dan_barker:person {full_name: "Dan. Barker"}

@james_hulse:person {full_name: "James Hulse"}

@amos_johnson:person {full_name: "Amos Johnson"}

@william_fancher:person {full_name: "William Fancher"}

@bow_smith:person {full_name: "Bow Smith"}

@abraham_mullen:person {full_name: "Abraham Mullen"}

@john_weston:person {full_name: "John Weston"}

@abraham_page:person {full_name: "Abraham Page"}

@caleb_evans:person {full_name: "Caleb Evans"}

@oliver_fisher:person {full_name: "Oliver Fisher"}

@benjamin_weston:person {full_name: "Benjamin Weston"}

@daniel_conkling:person {full_name: "Daniel Conkling"}

@jupiter_branford_inquest_documents -> created by -> [@dan_barker, @james_hulse, @amos_johnson, @william_fancher, @bow_smith, @abraham_mullen, @john_weston, @abraham_page, @caleb_evans, @oliver_fisher, @benjamin_weston, @daniel_conkling]

@jupiter_branford_inquest_documents -> held by -> @connecticut_state_library

@jupiter_branford_inquest_documents -> includes -> @file_pinax

@file_pinax:file {filename: "pinax.json", type: "Metadata (PINAX)"}

@jupiter_branford_inquest_documents -> includes -> @file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_branford_001_jpg

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_branford_001_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Branford_001.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@jupiter_branford_inquest_documents -> includes -> @file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_branford_002_jpg

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_branford_002_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Branford_002.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_branford_001_jpg -> documents -> @inquest_report:document {title: "Report of Inquest on Jupiter Negro", date: @date_1742_04_09, location: @branford, subject: @jupiter, verdict: "Suicide by hanging"}

@inquest_report:document {title: "Report of Inquest on Jupiter Negro", date: @date_1742_04_09, location: @branford, subject: @jupiter, verdict: "Suicide by hanging"}

@inquest_report -> about -> @jupiter

@inquest_report -> created on -> @date_1742_04_09

@inquest_report -> located at -> @branford

@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_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Branford_001.jpgJPEG
541.8 KB
OCR Text

Branford April 9th, 1742 The Circuit of us, Subscribers being Summoned for a Jury of Inquest this 9th Day of April 1742 & under Oath as y, Law Directs: Our Circuit is of Jupiter a Negro-Boy of Jacob Ropes of Branford who this Morning was Found Dead Did Wilfully & with violence Murther himself by Hanging himself with a Sail Rope. Toth Dan. Barker James Hulse Amos Johnson William Fancher Bow Smith Abraham Mullen John Weston Abraham Page Caleb Evans Oliver Fisher Benjamin Weston Daniel Conkling Jurors

RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Branford_002.jpgJPEG
386.32 KB
OCR Text

Jury Verdict on Jupiter Negro Inquest Branford Apr. 9, 1742 1742 Report of Inquest on Jupiter Negro

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:19:39 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:49:07 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:40:24 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:06 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Jupiter_Branford_Inquest_Documents"

Parent

01KBKZY1WYMXXTNTCYM390Q7NK

No children (leaf entity)