RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Wallingford_001.jpg

Jupiter Wallingford Inquest Reference Files

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:19:36 PM

Added description

Description

Jupiter Wallingford Inquest Reference Files

Overview

The Jupiter Wallingford Inquest Reference Files is a small archival collection held by the Connecticut State Library, catalogued as a New Haven County Superior Court record. Created on February 11, 1763, the collection documents the jury’s investigation into the sudden death of Jupiter, an enslaved African man who served Joel Canfield of Wallingford. The material consists of two scanned images of the court’s “Return of a Jury of Inquest” and associated metadata, including a JSON file that records the collection’s provenance and subject headings.

Background

In colonial Connecticut, inquests were public judicial inquiries held by a jury of local residents to determine the cause of sudden or suspicious deaths. The case of Jupiter reflects the legal status of enslaved people in the 18th‑century New England colonies and provides a rare glimpse into the procedural handling of an enslaved individual’s death. The collection is part of the State Library’s Black, African American, and Indigenous History (BAAI) initiative, which seeks to recover and contextualize court records that involve African‑American and Indigenous persons.

Contents

  • Return of a Jury of Inquest (scanned image, 1763) – a handwritten document that records the jury’s findings, stating that Jupiter died “in a sudden fit” and that the death was “merely casual.”
  • List of jurors – the document names 13 jurors, including Andrea Bartholomew, En Samuel Hooper, Jori Emmons, Lipe Hill, Jacob Hall, Moses Hall, Joseph Hope, Daniel Lee, William Munson, Joseph Peck, Heman Hall, and Benjamin Harris.
  • Metadata files – a JSON file (pinax.json) and OCR‑extracted text files for each image, providing machine‑readable transcriptions and indexing information.
  • Subject index – the collection is tagged with controlled terms such as “Inquest,” “Death investigation,” “African American history,” “Slavery,” and “Wallingford, Connecticut.”

Scope

The collection covers a single inquest event dated February 11, 1763 in Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut. It includes the primary court record (the return) and its digital surrogates but does not contain the full case file, related affidavits, or subsequent legal actions. The material is valuable for scholars of colonial legal history, slavery, and African‑American studies, illustrating how enslaved individuals were treated within the judicial system of 18th‑century New England.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@jupiter_wallingford_inquest:collection {title: "Jupiter Wallingford Inquest Reference Files", creator: @new_haven_county_superior_court, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1763_02_11, subjects: ["Inquest","Death investigation","African American history","Slavery","Legal documents","Wallingford","New Haven County"], description: "Collection of inquest reference files related to the death of Jupiter, an enslaved African man, servant of Joel Canfield of Wallingford, New Haven County, in 1763."}

@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {type: "court", abbreviation: "NHSC"}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "state library"}

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

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

@jupiter:person {role: "enslaved African man", status: "servant", ethnicity: "African American"}

@joel_canfield:person {role: "owner"}

@jupiter -> servant of -> @joel_canfield

@inquest_event:event {subject: @jupiter, location: @wallingford, date: @date_1763_02_11, outcome: "death deemed probable sudden fit, merely casual"}

@return_of_jury_of_inquest:document {type: "court record", title: "Return of a Jury of Inquest on the Body of Jupiter a Negro Man, Servant of Joel Canfield Wallingford", date: @date_1763_02_11}

@inquest_event -> documented by -> @return_of_jury_of_inquest

@andrea_bartholomew:person {full_name: "Andrea Bartholomew"}

@en_samuel_hooper:person {full_name: "En Samuel Hooper"}

@jori_emmons:person {full_name: "Jori Emmons"}

@lipe_hill:person {full_name: "Lipe Hill"}

@jacob_hall:person {full_name: "Jacob Hall"}

@moses_hall:person {full_name: "Moses Hall"}

@joseph_hope:person {full_name: "Joseph Hope"}

@daniel_lee:person {full_name: "Daniel Lee"}

@william_munson:person {full_name: "William Munson"}

@joseph_peck:person {full_name: "Joseph Peck"}

@heman_hall:person {full_name: "Heman Hall"}

@benjamin_harris:person {full_name: "Benjamin Harris"}

@return_of_jury_of_inquest -> includes jury -> [@andrea_bartholomew, @en_samuel_hooper, @jori_emmons, @lipe_hill, @jacob_hall, @moses_hall, @joseph_hope, @daniel_lee, @william_munson, @joseph_peck, @heman_hall, @benjamin_harris]

@file_pinax:file {type: "metadata", filename: "pinax.json"}

@file_pinax -> describes -> @jupiter_wallingford_inquest

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_wallingford_001_jpg:file {type: "image/asset with OCR", filename: "RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Wallingford_001.jpg.ref.json"}

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_wallingford_001_jpg -> image of -> @return_of_jury_of_inquest

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_wallingford_002_jpg:file {type: "image/asset with OCR", filename: "RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Wallingford_002.jpg.ref.json"}

@file_rg003_nhcc_baai_ps_inquests_jupiter_wallingford_002_jpg -> image of -> @return_of_jury_of_inquest

@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_Wallingford_001.jpgJPEG
419.9 KB
OCR Text

We the subscribers being Imprannelled and Sworn as a Jury of Inquest to inquire into the cause of the sudden Death of a Negro Man called Jupiter Servant of Joel Canfield of Wallingford in New Haven County, found lying Dead between the Medoy River so called and P. Canfield's Dwelling House near Howard having Reprance of Dead Body and viewed the same; and having Examined the Circumstances thereof do judge it probable that P. Negro died in a sudden Fit and that his Death was Merely Casual. Wallingford February 11th Anno Dom: 1763 Andrea Bartholomew En Samuel Hooper Jori Emmons Lipe Hill Jacob Hall Moses Hall Joseph Hope Daniel Lee William Munson Joseph Peck Heman Hall Benjamin Harris

RG003_NHCC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Jupiter_Wallingford_002.jpgJPEG
297 KB
OCR Text

The Return of a Jury of Inquest on the Body of Jupiter a Negro Man, Servant of Joel Canfield Wallingford Feb. 1743

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:19:36 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:48:59 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:40:21 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:32:12 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Jupiter_Wallingford_Inquest_Reference_Files"

Parent

01KBKZY1XXWRV5152Y4A7MYNBX

No children (leaf entity)