History & Genealogy Indexes

PLEASE NOTE: This is an index of a historical collection that contains words and phrases that may be offensive or harmful to individuals investigating these records. In order to preserve the objectivity and historical accuracy of the index, State Archives staff took what would today be considered archaic and offensive descriptions concerning race, ethnicity, and gender directly from the original court papers. For more information on appropriate description, please consult the Diversity Style Guide and Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia: Anti-Racist Description Resources. 

This collection contains over a thousand records of cases involving persons of African descent, both enslaved and free. It was created in order to highlight the lives and experiences of underrepresented groups in early America, and make them more easily accessible to researchers.

If a record of interest is found, and a reproduction of the original record is desired, you may submit a request via e-mail or by contacting the History & Genealogy Unit of the Connecticut State Library at (860) 757-6580. Please include the names of the parties, if known, as well as the box and folder numbers.

Reproduction formats and fees available, are as follows:

• Photocopy: black & white copy, 8 1/2 X 11″ or  11 X 14″ sized paper, 25 cents; 11 X 17″, 50 cents per photocopied page, plus a $3.00 handling fee and first class postage charges.
• Photocopy: color copy 8 1/2 X 11″ or 11 X 14″ sized paper, $1.00 per photocopied page, 11 X 17″, $1.25 per photocopied page plus a $3.00 handling fee and first class postage charges.
• Digital images (low or high resolution): PDF, JEG, TIFF, or DNG images, 25 cents per image, plus a $3.00 handling fee.  Digital file may be delivered via internet for no additional cost.

Pre-payment is not needed as a bill will accompany the finished product, either in the mail with photocopies or with the digital images.