State of Ohio v. Alfred Artis Collection (SC-25)
Scope and Contents
This collection contains assorted documents including sub poenas, written testimony, physicians’ and coroners’ reports, a sentence, and other court paperwork related to the trial of Alfred Artis of Shelby County, Ohio. Documents for two cases involving the State of Ohio v. Alfred Artis appear in the collection. Artis was accused in 1852 of sexually assaulting Rhoda Artis, his daughter, and in 1854 of causing the death of Emma Artis, another daughter. Researchers should be aware that this collection contains detailed written descriptions of potentially disturbing situations including rape, abuse, and death.
Dates
- Creation: 1852 - 1855
Creator
- Ohio. Prosecutor's Office (Shelby County) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Alfred Artis was the brother of Civil War veteran Elias Artis. Alfred lived in the free Black settlement of Rumley, Shelby County, with his family, including his wife, Elizabeth, and daughters Rhoda and Emma. Twelve-year-old Emma’s body was found in 1854, showing evidence that she had died from abuse and neglect. Alfred was tried for her death. During the trial, testimony from family and neighbors suggested Alfred had subjected Emma to poor treatment. Alfred was executed on February 23, 1855, having been sentenced for first-degree murder for Emma’s death. An obituary was published in the March 3, 1855 edition of the Dayton Daily Journal.
Extent
0.1 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
An official court report for a sexual assault case tried in Shelby County during the 1850s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in chronological order. Documents whose dates were known in year, month, day format were placed first. Documents where only the month was known were placed after documents where a day was also known. Summons for witnesses were presumed to have happened before indictments were issued. Three documents where only a year is known (or estimated) were left as they were in initial processing, though their order of creation was uncertain.
Subject
- Artis, Alfred, -1855 -- Trials, litigation, etc. (Person)
- Artis, Emma, 1841-1854 (Person)
- Artis, Rhoda (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the State of Ohio v. Alfred Artis Collection (SC-25)
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
