RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Dinah_001.jpg

Dinah Inquest Documents

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:19:50 PM

Added description

Description

Dinah Inquest Documents

Overview

The Dinah Inquest Documents is a digital collection of primary records from a 1768 inquest held in New Haven, Connecticut, concerning the death of Dinah, a Black woman. The collection comprises two scanned images of the original inquest papers, a metadata record in PINAX format, and associated descriptive information. The documents were created on 16 December 1768 and are preserved by the Connecticut State Library as part of the New Haven County Superior Court (NHSC) Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) case‑papers subject index.

Background

In colonial New Haven, inquests were convened to determine the cause of sudden or unexplained deaths. The jury of inquest was summoned by Judge Daniel Upham, a local Judge of the Peace, to investigate Dinah’s death. The case is significant for its early documentation of a Black woman’s death in Connecticut and illustrates the legal procedures applied to enslaved and free Black individuals in the 18th century.

Contents

  • Image 1 (RG003NHSCBAAIPSInquestsDinah001.jpg): A facsimile of the sworn statement of the jury, listing the twelve jurors and the judge, and recording that Dinah died of sickness.
  • Image 2 (RG003NHSCBAAIPSInquestsDinah002.jpg): The verdict sheet, confirming the jury’s conclusion that Dinah’s death was not caused by violence.
  • Metadata (PINAX): JSON describing the collection’s title, creators, date, subjects, and place of origin.
  • Supporting entities: Names of the jurors (John Hatchhief, Thomas Howell, Francis Brown, James Gilbert, Joseph Munson, Stephen Alling, Edwain Job Smith, John Snowbridge, Abiathar Camp, Elijah Allen, Stephen Browne, Sam'l Priestley) and the judge.
The collection is linked to the NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject index, indicating its inclusion in a broader database of court records involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals.

Scope

The collection covers a single inquest event dated 16 December 1768, located in New Haven, Middlesex County, Connecticut. It focuses on the legal investigation of a Black woman’s death, providing insight into colonial death‑investigation practices and the treatment of African American subjects in the court system. The collection does not include other court filings, related correspondence, or subsequent legal actions; it is limited to the inquest documents themselves.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@dinah_inquest_documents:collection {title: "Dinah Inquest Documents", creator: ["Jury of Inquest", "Daniel Upham"], institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1768_12_16, language: "en", subjects: ["Inquests", "Death investigation", "African American history", "New Haven County", "Legal documents"], description: "Documents related to the inquest of Dinah, a negro woman, whose death was investigated in New Haven, Connecticut on December 16, 1768.", place: [@new_haven_connecticut, @middlesex_county_connecticut]}

@new_haven_connecticut:place {city: "New Haven", state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}

@middlesex_county_connecticut:place {county: "Middlesex", state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "State Library"}

@dinah:person {race: "African American", gender: "female", status: "deceased"}

@daniel_upham:person {title: "Judge of the Peace", role: "Judge"}

@jury_of_inquest:organization {type: "Jury"}

@inquest_event:event {when: @date_1768_12_16, where: @new_haven_connecticut, subject: @dinah}

@sickness:concept {description: "Death caused by sickness"}

@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"}

@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {abbreviation: "NHSC", jurisdiction: @new_haven_connecticut}

@file_pinax:file {type: "Metadata (PINAX)", format: "JSON"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_dinah_001_jpg:file {type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_dinah_002_jpg:file {type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@john_hatchhief:person {role: "juror"}

@thomas_howell:person {role: "juror"}

@francis_brown:person {role: "juror"}

@james_gilbert:person {role: "juror"}

@joseph_munson:person {role: "juror"}

@stephen_alling:person {role: "juror"}

@edwain_job_smith:person {role: "juror"}

@john_snowbridge:person {role: "juror"}

@abiathar_camp:person {role: "juror"}

@elijah_allen:person {role: "juror"}

@stephen_browne:person {role: "juror"}

@saml_priestley:person {role: "juror"}

@dinah_inquest_documents -> contains -> @file_pinax

@dinah_inquest_documents -> contains -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_dinah_001_jpg

@dinah_inquest_documents -> contains -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_dinah_002_jpg

@dinah_inquest_documents -> part_of -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@jury_of_inquest -> summoned on -> @date_1768_12_16 {where: @new_haven_connecticut}

@jury_of_inquest -> comprised of -> [@john_hatchhief, @thomas_howell, @francis_brown, @james_gilbert, @joseph_munson, @stephen_alling, @edwain_job_smith, @john_snowbridge, @abiathar_camp, @elijah_allen, @stephen_browne, @saml_priestley]

@daniel_upham -> presided over -> @inquest_event

@jury_of_inquest -> investigated -> @dinah

@dinah -> cause_of_death -> @sickness

@jury_of_inquest -> verdict -> @dinah {status: "deceased"}

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Dinah_001.jpgJPEG
419.73 KB
OCR Text

We the subscribers being summoned as a Jury of Inquest to inquire of the Cause & Manner of the Death of Dinah, a negro woman whose body on the 16th Day of December 1768 was found a corpse in the Town of New Haven, the County of Middlesex and being duly sworn before Daniel Upham Esq. Judge of Peace for said County having made inquiry as to the Cause and Manner of the Death of said Dinah we do find by evidence that her death was occasioned by sickness which by evidence appears she has been hitherto free of, and that her death was not brought on by any violence but by the Providence of God. As witness our hands and oath the 16th Day of December 1768 in New Haven Aftemoon John Hatchhief Thomas Howell Francis Brown James Gilbert Joseph Munson Stephen Alling Edwain Job Smith John Snowbridge Abiathar Camp Elijah Allen Stephen Browne Sam'l Priestley

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Dinah_002.jpgJPEG
283.43 KB
OCR Text

Verdict of Jury of Inquest Dinah - Negro New Haven Dec 1768

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:19:50 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:50:39 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:40:33 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:33:03 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Dinah_Inquest_Documents"

Parent

01KBKZYYGZVN6V241YKGQ1D6JJ

No children (leaf entity)