RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Simon_002.jpg

Joseph Simon Inquest Collection, 1773

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:20:56 PM

Added description

Description

Joseph Simon Inquest Collection, 1773

Overview

The Joseph Simon Inquest Collection is a digitised set of documents produced in 1773 by Josiah Migges, the recorder for the New Haven Superior Court. It records the formal inquest into the sudden death of Joseph Simon, an Indigenous man found dead in Guilford, Connecticut on 4 April 1773. The collection includes the original inquest report, the jury verdict, and high‑resolution images (JPEG and TIFF) of the report, as well as metadata linking the documents to the New Haven County Superior Court’s Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) subject index.

Background

Josiah Migges compiled the materials shortly after the death, convening a jury of twelve men in August 1773 to investigate the circumstances. The report was addressed to the Superior Court in New Haven and signed by the foreman of the jury. The collection is housed by the Connecticut State Library and originates from the PINAX archival system. It reflects early colonial legal procedures and the treatment of Indigenous deaths within the New Haven County jurisdiction.

Contents

  • Inquest Report (dated 12 August 1773) – a formal narrative of the death, the jury’s findings, and the verdict.
  • Verdict Document – the signed “fatal verdict” issued by the jury’s foreman.
  • Jury of Twelve – a record of the jurors convened for the investigation.
  • Digital Images – a JPEG and a TIFF of the original report, both containing OCR‑extracted text.
  • Metadata – including subject‑index fields (NHSCBAAICasesPapersSubject) and place references to Guilford and New Haven.

Scope

The collection covers a single legal event in 1773, focusing on the death investigation of an Indigenous individual in Guilford, Connecticut. It is limited to the documents produced by the New Haven Superior Court’s inquest process and does not include subsequent legal actions or broader court records. The material is in English, dated 4 April 1773, and pertains to New Haven County, Connecticut. It is valuable for researchers of colonial legal history, Indigenous studies, and the early judicial record‑keeping practices of New Haven.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@joseph_simon_inquest_collection:document {title: "Joseph Simon Inquest Collection, 1773", creator: @josiah_migges, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1773_04_04, subjects: ["Inquests","Death investigation","Native American history","Legal documents","New Haven County"], description: "Collection containing documents related to the inquest of Joseph Simon, an Indian man found dead in Guilford, Connecticut in April 1773.", place: [@guilford_connecticut, @new_haven_connecticut]}

@josiah_migges:person {role: "Recorder/Collector"}

@joseph_simon:person {ethnicity: "Native American", status: "deceased"}

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

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

@connecticut:place {type: "state", country: @united_states}

@new_haven_superior_court:organization {type: "court", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county, abbreviation: "NHSC"}

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

@file_pinax:file {filename: "pinax.json"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_simon_002_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Simon_002.jpg.ref.json"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_simon_002_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Simon_002.tif.ref.json"}

@joseph_simon_inquest_collection -> contains -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_simon_002_jpg

@joseph_simon_inquest_collection -> contains -> @file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_simon_002_tif

@inquest_report:document {title: "Inquest Report of Joseph Simon", date: @date_1773_08_12, author: @josiah_migges, recipient: @new_haven_superior_court, location: @guilford_connecticut}

@josiah_migges -> wrote -> @inquest_report

@inquest_report -> reports death of -> @joseph_simon

@jury_of_twelve:organization {type: "jury", count: 12, purpose: "inquest"}

@new_haven_superior_court -> convened -> @jury_of_twelve

@jury_of_twelve -> investigated -> @joseph_simon

@verdict:document {type: "verdict", content: "fatal verdict", signed_by: @foreman_jury}

@jury_of_twelve -> delivered -> @verdict

@foreman_jury:person {role: "foreman"}

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject-index field for New Haven County Superior Court files involving Black, African American, and Indigenous cases and papers"}

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Simon_002.jpgJPEG
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OCR Text

To the Honorable Superior Court to be Holden at N. Haven on 12th Sunday of August, 1773. May it Please Your Honours, Having heard of the sudden death of Joseph Simon an Indian man on 4th day of April last past—who was found dead in Guilford I forthwith impaneled a jury of twelve men who were sworn in pursuant to law to inquire into the cause of his death at which Inquest I attended & jurors on 4th place where the said Joseph Simon was found dead—the jurors all agreed to the fatal verdict which they directed their foreman to sign and it was delivered to me as their verdict to which they all assented—which I herein inclose to your Hon. I have since observed by the law the jurors ought all to be signed in but as they had remote from each other I have not had opportunity to collect them together & as the affair is without any suspicion of violence I have neglected that part which I hope your Hon. will excuse. I am May it please your Most Humble Servant, Josiah Migges

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:20:56 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:52:21 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:41:17 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:34:31 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Joseph_Simon_Inquest_1773"

Parent

01KBKZZ00FFP46ZKZ30TPD91Y5

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