RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_001.jpg

New Haven County Superior Court Summons and Jury Selection Documents

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:21:08 PM

Added description

Description

New Haven County Superior Court Summons and Jury Selection Documents (1735)

Overview

This collection contains two 18th‑century summons documents issued by the New Haven County Superior Court clerk, Edwards, on September 2, 1735. The items are part of the Connecticut State Library’s NHSC BAAI project, which digitizes and indexes court records related to Black, African American, and Indigenous history. The collection is held by the Connecticut State Library and is available in high‑resolution JPEG and TIFF formats, each accompanied by OCR‑derived text.

Background

The New Haven County Superior Court was the principal judicial body in colonial Connecticut. In 1735, the court relied on grand juries to investigate crimes and civil disputes. The NHSC BAAI project seeks to preserve and provide scholarly access to these records, emphasizing their relevance to the legal and social history of marginalized communities in the region. The documents were created by Clerk Edwards and addressed to the Sheriff of New Haven County, reflecting the administrative practices of the period.

Contents

  • Summons 001: A formal command to the Sheriff to summon eighteen freeholders of the county to serve as a grand jury. The text is printed in the style of the era and includes the court’s signature and date.
  • Summons 002: A list of the jurors—James Dickey, Daniel Pattle, Titus Brackett, Samuel Cook, Samuel Darling, Joseph Miles, Sarah Rogers, Theophilus Munson, Noah Pattle, Michael Todd, Joseph Todd, Grace Jones, Stephen Howell, Alexander Willcot, Samuel Hickox, Bartholomew Goodridge—along with a note that it was served by reading the hearing of John Merriman.
The collection includes JPEG images of the original documents, corresponding TIFF files, and OCR text, enabling both visual inspection and keyword search.

Scope

The collection covers a single date—September 2, 1735—in New Haven County, Connecticut. It focuses on the legal process of summoning and selecting grand juries and is part of the broader NHSC BAAI project. The items provide a snapshot of the administrative procedures and the individuals involved in the grand jury system of colonial New Haven, but they do not include other court documents from the period.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

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

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_001_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_001.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_002_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_002.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_001_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_001.tif.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_002_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_002.tif.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@edwards_clerk:person {full_name: "Edwards", role: "Clerk"}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {name: "Connecticut State Library", type: "State Library"}

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

@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {name: "New Haven County Superior Court", type: "Court", location: @new_haven_connecticut}

@nhsc_summons_and_jury_selection_collection:collection {
    title: "New Haven County Superior Court Summons and Jury Selection Documents",
    creator: [@edwards_clerk],
    institution: @connecticut_state_library,
    created: @date_1735_09_02,
    language: "en",
    subjects: ["Summons", "Jury Selection", "Grand Juries", "Legal Documents", "New Haven County", "Black, African American, and Indigenous History"],
    description: "Collection of documents related to the summons and selection of grand juries for the New Haven County Superior Court in 1735, as part of the Black, African American, and Indigenous (BAAI) cases and papers.",
    place: [@new_haven_connecticut]
}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @nhsc_summons_and_jury_selection_collection

@nhsc_baai_project:concept {description: "CT State Library project to digitize and index New Haven County Superior Court files related to Black, African American, and Indigenous history"}

@nhsc_summons_and_jury_selection_collection -> part of -> @nhsc_baai_project

@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject-heading field for BAAI case files in New Haven County Superior Court"}

@nhsc_summons_and_jury_selection_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@sheriff_new_haven:person {role: "Sheriff of New Haven County"}

@summons_001:document {
    title: "Summons for Grand Jury (1735)",
    date: @date_1735_09_02,
    issuer: @edwards_clerk,
    recipient: @sheriff_new_haven,
    subject: "Grand Jury selection",
    location: @new_haven_connecticut
}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_001_jpg -> depicts -> @summons_001

@summons_002:document {
    title: "Summons with Grand Jury List (1735)",
    date: @date_1735_09_02,
    issuer: @edwards_clerk,
    recipient: @sheriff_new_haven,
    subject: "Grand Jury selection",
    location: @new_haven_connecticut,
    notes: "Served by reading hearing of John Merriman"
}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_002_jpg -> depicts -> @summons_002

@john_merriman:person {role: "Clerk who read the summons"}

@john_merriman -> read -> @summons_002

@juror_james_dickey:person {full_name: "James Dickey"}
@juror_daniel_pattle:person {full_name: "Daniel Pattle"}
@juror_titus_brackett:person {full_name: "Titus Brackett"}
@juror_samuel_cook:person {full_name: "Samuel Cook"}
@juror_samuel_darling:person {full_name: "Samuel Darling"}
@juror_joseph_miles:person {full_name: "Joseph Miles"}
@juror_sarah_rogers:person {full_name: "Sarah Rogers"}
@juror_theophilus_munson:person {full_name: "Theophilus Munson"}
@juror_noah_pattle:person {full_name: "Noah Pattle"}
@juror_michael_todd:person {full_name: "Michael Todd"}
@juror_joseph_todd:person {full_name: "Joseph Todd"}
@juror_grace_jones:person {full_name: "Grace Jones"}
@juror_stephen_howell:person {full_name: "Stephen Howell"}
@juror_alexander_willcot:person {full_name: "Alexander Willcot"}
@juror_samuel_hickox:person {full_name: "Samuel Hickox"}
@juror_bartholomew_goodridge:person {full_name: "Bartholomew Goodridge"}

@summons_002 -> lists -> [
    @juror_james_dickey,
    @juror_daniel_pattle,
    @juror_titus_brackett,
    @juror_samuel_cook,
    @juror_samuel_darling,
    @juror_joseph_miles,
    @juror_sarah_rogers,
    @juror_theophilus_munson,
    @juror_noah_pattle,
    @juror_michael_todd,
    @juror_joseph_todd,
    @juror_grace_jones,
    @juror_stephen_howell,
    @juror_alexander_willcot,
    @juror_samuel_hickox,
    @juror_bartholomew_goodridge
]

Metadata

Files (4)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_001.jpgJPEG
446.28 KB
OCR Text

To ye Sheriff of ye County of New Haven or his Deputy Greeting. In his Majesty's Name you are hereby Commanded to summon Eighteen Able and Industrious Freeholders of S. County to Serve as Grand Juries before ye Sup'r Court Now Sitting in S. N' Haven and you are to Signify to them that they must not fail in the Premisses on ye Pains and Penalties of ye Law in that Case made and Provided, and of this Writ with ye Names of ye Persons you Shell so warn thereon Endorsed fail not to make Due return to S. Court. Dated at N' Haven this Second Day of September Anno R R' Georgii Secundi Nono Annoq B Domini 1735 Edwards Clerk

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_002.jpgJPEG
464.96 KB
OCR Text

New Haven September 2d, 1735 This summons was served by reading my hearing of John Merriman. James Dickey Daniel Pattle Titus Brackett Sam'l Cook Sam'l Darling Joseph Miles Sarah Rogers Theophilus Munson Noah Pattle Michael Todd Joseph Todd Grace Jones Joseph Miles Stephen Howell Alexander Willcot Sam'l Hickox Bartholomew Goodridge

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:21:08 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:54:17 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:41:27 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:34:39 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Summons_and_Jury_Selection"

Parent

01KBKZZ53D1SRGD9T9DPXPFFW8

No children (leaf entity)