RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_UnnamedMan_001.jpg

Inquest Jury List for Unnamed Negro Man Drowning in Milford, 1771

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:21:07 PM

Added description

Description

Inquest Jury List 1771

Overview

This collection is a digitized record of a New Haven County Jury of Inquest proceeding held on October 31, 1771, in Milford, Connecticut. It comprises the original court document, scanned images (JPEG and TIFF), and associated metadata. The record documents the inquest into the death of an unnamed Negro man found drowned at Pond Point, Milford.

Background

The New Haven County Jury of Inquest was a colonial body convened to investigate sudden or suspicious deaths. In 1771, the jury was summoned to determine how the unnamed Black man died. The case is part of the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County Superior Court files, specifically the “Black, African American, and Indigenous History” (BAAI) project, which seeks to preserve and highlight cases involving African American and Indigenous individuals.

Contents

  • Original inquest document: a handwritten court record dated October 31, 1771, signed by clerk David Ingersoll.
  • Scanned images: a high‑resolution JPEG (≈600 KB) and a TIFF (≈18 MB) of the original page, both containing the full text of the jury’s findings.
  • OCR text: extracted from the images, reproducing the jury’s statement that the man “was casually drowned.”
  • Metadata: includes creator (New Haven County Jury of Inquest), institution (Connecticut State Library), language (English), subjects (Inquests, Drowning, African American history, Legal documents, Milford, New Haven County), and a list of jurors: John Merrin, Jonas Green, Bergy Greene, Bory Bull, Joseph Bryan, Grace Smith, Ann Tomlinson, Wm. Con, Miles Merrin, Fitch Welch, Daniel Purn, and William Scott.

Scope

The collection covers a single 1771 inquest case, providing primary evidence of colonial legal procedures involving an African American individual. It is geographically limited to Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, and temporally to the late 18th century. The record is a valuable resource for scholars of early American legal history, African American studies, and local Connecticut history.

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_unnamedman_001_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_UnnamedMan_001.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_unnamedman_001_tif:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_UnnamedMan_001.tif.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

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

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

@milford:place {type: "town", county: @new_haven_county, state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest:organization {full_name: "New Haven County Jury of Inquest", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county}

@unnamed_negro_man:person {description: "Unnamed Black man who drowned at Pond Point, Milford in 1771"}

@inquest_jury_list_1771:collection {title: "Inquest Jury List for Unnamed Negro Man Drowning in Milford, 1771", creator: @new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1771_10_31, language: "en", description: "Jury of Inquest findings regarding the death of an unnamed Negro man found drowned in Milford, Connecticut, in 1771.", subjects: ["Inquests", "Drowning", "African American history", "Legal documents", "Milford (Conn.)", "New Haven County (Conn.)"]}

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

@inquest_document:document {type: "court record", content: "We the subscribers being summoned as a Jury of Inquest, and duly sworn, to enquire how a Negro Man found dead in Milford at a Place called Pond Point (his Name unknown) came to his Death, do find & judge that he was Casually drowned. Certified for Dated at Milford Octob: 31: 1771. New Haven County of Milford Oct' 31 - 1771 Be it remembered that the above Jury of Inquest as their Names subscribed were duly sworn according to law, and return the above order to me David Ingersoll his Office."}

@john_merrin:person {full_name: "John Merrin", role: "juror"}

@jonas_green:person {full_name: "Jonas Green", role: "juror"}

@berg_y_greene:person {full_name: "Bergy Greene", role: "juror"}

@bory_bull:person {full_name: "Bory Bull", role: "juror"}

@joseph_bryan:person {full_name: "Joseph Bryan", role: "juror"}

@grace_smith:person {full_name: "Grace Smith", role: "juror"}

@ann_tomlinson:person {full_name: "Ann Tomlinson", role: "juror"}

@wm_con:person {full_name: "Wm. Con", role: "juror"}

@miles_merrin:person {full_name: "Miles Merrin", role: "juror"}

@fitch_welch:person {full_name: "Fitch Welch", role: "juror"}

@daniel_purn:person {full_name: "Daniel Purn", role: "juror"}

@william_scott:person {full_name: "William Scott", role: "juror"}

@david_ingersoll:person {full_name: "David Ingersoll", role: "clerk"}

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> created -> @inquest_jury_list_1771

@inquest_jury_list_1771 -> about -> @unnamed_negro_man

@inquest_jury_list_1771 -> location -> @milford

@inquest_jury_list_1771 -> date -> @date_1771_10_31

@file_pinax -> documents -> @inquest_jury_list_1771

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_unnamedman_001_jpg -> depicts -> @inquest_document

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @john_merrin

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @jonas_green

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @berg_y_greene

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @bory_bull

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @joseph_bryan

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @grace_smith

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @ann_tomlinson

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @wm_con

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @miles_merrin

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @fitch_welch

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @daniel_purn

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> member -> @william_scott

@new_haven_county_jury_of_inquest -> returned order to -> @david_ingersoll

@inquest_document -> dated -> @date_1771_10_31

@inquest_document -> location -> @milford

@inquest_document -> subject -> ["Inquests", "Drowning", "African American history", "Legal documents"]

Metadata

Files (2)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_UnnamedMan_001.jpgJPEG
587.78 KB
OCR Text

We the subscribers being summoned as a Jury of Inquest, and duly sworn, to enquire how a Negro Man found dead in Milford at a Place called Pond Point (his Name unknown) came to his Death, do find & judge that he was Casually drowned. Certified for Dated at Milford Octob: 31: 1771. New Haven County of Milford Oct' 31 - 1771 Be it remembered that the above Jury of Inquest as their Names subscribed were duly sworn according to law, and return the above order to me David Ingersoll his Office, John Merrin Foreman Jonas Green Bergy Greene Bory Bull Joseph Bryan Grace Smith Ann Tomlinson Wm. Con Miles Merrin Fitch Welch Daniel Purn William Scott

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:21:07 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, 6:34:42 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Inquest_Jury_List_1771"

Parent

01KBKZYYNXMXHXJEENXEJQEAQK

No children (leaf entity)