RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_005.jpg

New Haven County Superior Court Indictment and Court Proceedings Collection

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:20:53 PM

Added description

Description

New Haven County Superior Court Indictment and Court Proceedings Collection (1735)

Overview

This is a digital collection of court documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, preserved by the Connecticut State Library. The collection centers on the indictment of Noah Durand for the murder of Peter Junk, an Indian man, dated May 22, 1735. It includes scanned images (JPEG and TIFF) of the original indictment, metadata, and subject‑heading information that links the case to the library’s “Black, African American, and Indigenous History” (BAAI) research series.

Background

The New Haven County Superior Court was the primary judicial body for the colony of Connecticut in the early 18th century. In 1735, a murder case involving an indigenous victim was recorded in Derby, a town within New Haven County. The Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County project, funded by the NHPRC grant, digitizes such records to support research on colonial legal practices and the experiences of Black, African American, and Indigenous peoples. The collection’s subject‑heading field, “Nhsc Baai Cases Papers Subject,” reflects this focus.

Contents

  • Indictment Document – A scanned copy of the original indictment, dated May 22, 1735, presented in the court’s language of the time.
  • High‑resolution TIFF scans – Two TIFF files (RG003NHSCBAAIPSInquestsSunk005.tif and _006.tif) provide detailed, lossless images of the indictment pages.
  • JPEG images – Corresponding JPEGs (RG003NHSCBAAIPSInquestsSunk005.jpg and _006.jpg) offer more accessible, web‑friendly versions.
  • Metadata – JSON records (pinax.json and related files) describe the collection’s title, creator, date, subjects, and provenance.
  • Subject Index – The collection is indexed under “Nhsc Baai Cases Papers Subject,” linking it to other BAAI‑focused court records.

Scope

The collection covers a single legal proceeding from 1735, located in Derby, Connecticut, within New Haven County. It documents the indictment of a European defendant for the murder of an Indigenous victim, illustrating colonial legal attitudes toward indigenous peoples. The material is relevant to scholars of colonial law, indigenous history, and the broader BAAI research agenda. It excludes other court cases from the period; however, the subject index connects it to related documents in the NHSC BAAI series.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@nhsc_indictment_collection:document {title: "New Haven County Superior Court Indictment and Court Proceedings Collection", creator: @new_haven_county_superior_court, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1735, subjects: ["Indictment","Court Proceedings","Murder","Legal Documents","Black, African American, and Indigenous History"], description: "Collection of court documents from the New Haven County Superior Court, including an indictment for the murder of Peter Junk, an Indian man, by Noah Durand in 1735."}

@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {type: "Court"}

@connecticut_state_library:organization {type: "Library"}

@derby:place {state: @connecticut, county: @new_haven_county}

@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut}

@noah_durand:person {full_name: "Noah Durand", residence: @derby, ethnicity: "European"}

@peter_junk:person {full_name: "Peter Junk", ethnicity: "Native American", status: "Indian man"}

@indictment_of_peter_junk:event {date: @date_1735_05_22, location: @derby, defendant: @noah_durand, victim: @peter_junk, crime: "Murder"}

@indictment_document:document {title: "Indictment for murder of Peter Junk", date: @date_1735_05_22, author: @new_haven_county_superior_court, related_event: @indictment_of_peter_junk}

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

@file_pinax:file -> documents -> @nhsc_indictment_collection

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_005_jpg:file -> depicts -> @indictment_document

@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_inquests_sunk_006_jpg:file -> contains -> @indictment_document

@nhsc_indictment_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

@indictment_of_peter_junk -> recorded in -> @indictment_document

@indictment_document -> part of -> @nhsc_indictment_collection

@indictment_document -> location -> @derby

@indictment_document -> subject -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject

Metadata

Files (4)

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_005.jpgJPEG
495.67 KB
OCR Text

Newhaun for Supr' Court September first Thursday 1735 The open purview of our sovereign Lord the King upon their oaths present that whereas by our Captain Law of this Colony in Titled An act for punishing of Capital offends among other things it is provided that if any person shall commit any willfull murder upon malice Hatred or Cruelly not in a mans just & necessary Defense nor by Casually against his will he shall be put to death yet neverthless Noah Durand of derby in the County of newhaun on or about the 22 day of may last att derby above did not fearing the fear of god expose his eyes but being preludged by the said Noah did take in to his hand again of the value of twenty shillings leaden with powder & ball & there with an a Jalt made upon the body of one Peter Junk an Indian man who was then there in the power of god & the King viz att derby in the 22 day of may last & did proprant the po gun directly att the body of the said Peter Junk & fired of the same & flied the po peter junk through the trunk of the body whereof he instantly ly dyed & thus the said Noah Durand did willfully wickedly cruelly maliciously & feloniously murder the po peter junk contrary to the force form & Effect of the laws before & against the peace of our sovereign Lord the King his Crown & dignity etc

RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Inquests_Sunk_006.jpgJPEG
350.92 KB
OCR Text

Ignaramas J John monmon Forman

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:20:53 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:52:32 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, 6:34:42 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Indictment_and_Court_Proceedings"

Parent

01KBKZZ53D1SRGD9T9DPXPFFW8

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