Collections : [Connecticut State Library, State Archives]

Papers and correspondence of the General Assembly, the Governor and Council, and other colony or state officials.

The collection consists primarily of records after 1909 ending with the administration preceding the most current, with each administration constituting a separate subgroup. Records prior as well as several dating after, appear as separate series. These include Executive Clerk, 1820-1985; Proclamations, 1630-1991; Correspondence, 1811-1933; Bond Registers, 1819-1899; Applications, 1848-1880; Miscellaneous Reports, 1850-1945; Commitment Papers, 1848-1948; Appointment Registers, 1871-1978; Commissioner of Deeds, 1879-1978; Office of the Lieutenant Governor, 1991-2018; and Requisitions and Waivers of Extradition, 1921-1982. Some of these series cross over several administrations.

The official record books of the General Court/General Assembly, containing proceedings and other materials.

The official record books of New Haven Colony, containing proceedings and other materials. A volume covering circa 1649-1653 is believed to have been lost or destroyed prior to 1698.

Early deeds, land records, turnpike records.

Probate record books, 1677-1849. Contact the probate court for access to record books after Volume 50. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Minutes, records of acts, letters, etc. of the New England Confederation that was comprised of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Volume 53 also includes records of the Court of Assistants, May 11, 1669 - October 7, 1686 and October 1, 1696 - October 3, 1701.

Probate record books, 1647-1959. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 621. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Record books, Volumes 1-10, 1648-1755. Contact the probate court to access original record books after Volume 10. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Court cases and documents, wills and inventories.

The Samuel Wyllys Papers, 1661-1728, undated, are a group of 88 court documents that include 6 cases of witchcraft (42 documents), 12 cases concerning assault and battery, theft, adultery and other crimes (35 documents), and 11 other documents related to prayers of confession and petition, lists of freemen, poor relief, taxes, and titles to Indian land. .

Records of the standing committee of Governor and Assistants that dealt with the colony's operations when the Gneral Court/Assembly was not in session.

The collection is arranged into eight series:

The records were arranged into 4 subgroups and 8 series which document the . The series include .

The records were arranged into 13 series which document Indian Litigation cases. The series include Attorney General, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Eastern Pequot, Golden Hill Paugusetts, Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan, Nipmuc, Schatigcoke, Webster/Dudley Band of Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indians, National Archives Microfilm, Miscellaneous Microfilm, Removable Media, and Restricted.

Sidney Miner collected family history, and between 1860 and 1880, mailed out circular letters and family group sheets to those with the Miner name throughout the country. This collection consists of samples of his circular letters, blank and completed family sheets, and correspondence providing family histories that Miner planned to compile into a publication. His correspondence is organized in Series 1. One notable letter in the collection is from E.B. Kellogg in 1857 concerning the printing of the Miner coat of arms by Kellogg, a noted Hartford printer.

Administrative, church, court, land, tax and vital records for the town of New London.

Probate record books, 1675-1937. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 46 for Records and Volume 46 for Journals. Volumes titled "Journal" record the proceedings of the court. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The records are arranged under eighteen headings or series, from Admissions to the Bar to Travel. The papers in most series are arranged in chronological order. Only a handful of documents exist for the period before 1700. Well over 99% of the papers date from the years between 1700 and 1855.

Records of the Court of Assistants, February 15, 1686/87-October 1687; May 27, 1690-May 11, 1696; May 7, 1702-1711. Records of the Superior Court, 1711-1715; 1748-1749.

Researchers need to be aware in studying these records that the spelling of surnames often varies. It could be Ames or Eames, Hide or Hyde, Lathrop or Lothrop, Maynor, Maynard, Minerd, or Mynard, Right or Wright, or Waterhouse, Waterus, or Watrous, to cite just a few examples.

The collection consists of records of 396 records concerning Native Americans from New London County and environs, 360 from Files and 36 from Papers by Subject. Two hundred and forty-eight are located in Files for the period 1698-1774 and 16 in Papers by Subject, the corresponding figures for the post-Revolutionary period are 112 and 20. The decline in the number of records for Native Americans in the period from 1781-1855 clearly reflects the decline in Indian population in the region from a little over 1,000 in 1774 to around 200 eighty years later.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The first draft of this finding aid, covering the period 1701-74, contained records of 286 cases involving African Americans and people of color. Subsequent research has increased that number to 298. Another 808 cases involving people of color have been identified for the period between 1781 and 1854 and 85 new records found in Papers by Subject². The black population in southeastern Connecticut remained relatively constant from the time of the census of 1774 and the abolition of the county courts in 1855. As slaves gained their freedom, and about 80% were free by 1800, however, they entered into more contracts and became plaintiffs or defendants in more civil and criminal cases.

Probate record books, volumes 1-49. Two general indexes and 22 separate indexes for volumes 25-31, 33, 35-43, 45-49. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Administrative, court, election, church, school, tax and vital records for the town of Tolland.

The papers include accounts, church papers, correspondence, court papers, deeds, estate papers, land papers, school society papers, tax lists, and turnpike papers. There are also writings, sketches and notes of Wedworth Wadsworth, the artist and writer. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by recipient, with the bulk addressed to Wedworth Wadsworth and William Wadsworth from family members who emigrated out of state. The majority of the court papers come from William Wadsworth's work as Justice of the Peace. The school society papers come from Wedworth Wadsworth's service as a trustee. The school society oversaw the operation of the Center, South, West, South West, and Quarry school districts. The tax lists include individual returns of Durham residents and property holders for 1865-66 arranged alphabetically by name. There are also individual tax lists for Wedworth, James, and William Wadsworth. The turnpike papers relate to the Durham and East Guilford Turnpike, of which Wedworth Wadsworth was a director. The Durham and East Guilford Turnpike Company was chartered in 1811 and operated until 1845. Included are early subscriber lists, accounts, and toll receipts.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books, vol. 1-57, 1719-1944. There is also a supplement to volume 3, an index to volume 1, and index to volumes 2-3, and a typed index covering circa 1719-1860. Contact the probate court to access original record books numbered after 57. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books: Regular, vol. 1-38, 1719-1921; Special, vol. 1-12, 1734-1921; Orders decrees, vol. 13-25, 1881-1921; Bonds, vol. 1-8, 1881-1966; Insolvent estates, vol. 1-3, 1877-1903. Contact the probate court to access original record books numbered after these volumes. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Two people employed under the W.P.A. program arranged the records in groups of like material organized by date. The archivist has retained that rough organization and divided the materials into ten Series. Administrative records, 1762-1904, include minutes of town meetings, 1804-1818, 1822, 1829; petitions for town meetings, for building roads, and against a "taverner", 1824-1896; appointments of overseers, 1782-1842 who helped failing farmers become self-sustaining; contracts for building roads, 1825-1841, 1891-1904; and bills, receipts and accounts, 1806-1896. Selectmen's correspondence, 1824-1896, contains some letters regarding a ferry across the Connecticut River and some relating to care of the poor. Of particular note among the administrative records are votes relating to the State Constitutional Convention in 1818, and a contract for building a new Town House in 1840. Apprenticeship indentures, 1779-1822, include those in which the town bound out poor boys and girls, some to learn a trade and others to work as servants. Among the bills of sale are two documents, 1753, 1860, relating to the sale of interests in sailing vessels. There are also accounts of timber found or "taken afloat", 1818-1841.

Probate record books, Volumes, 1-37, 1741-1976. Volumes 1-9 and part of Volume 10 contain records for the East Haddam Probate District which held the court in Colchester. When the Colchester Probate District was established in 1832, recordkeeping continued in the same Volume 10 and subsequent volumes continued the numbering sequence. See Alternative Form Available note below.

These papers consist of a manuscript genealogy of the descendents of John Griffin of Simsbury, Conn. and genealogy notes.

Administrative, election, court, military, school, tax and vital records for the town of Wethersfield.

Four record books, 1727-1893, that include minutes of meetings, records of baptisms, marriages, deaths, lists of pastors, deacons, and church members.

The papers are divided into two series, the first consisting of Justice of the Peace Records and the second of Family Papers.

Tax and other town records for the town of Bolton.

Administrative, school and tax records for the town of Norwich.

Administrative and tax records for the town of Simsbury.

Tax records for the town of Groton.

Administrative, land, church, school, military, election, and tax records for the town of Durham.

This collection consists for the most part of papers accumulated by Roswell Grant (1745/6-1834) of East Windsor in his capacity of Justice of the Peace. It also includes materials relating to the town of East Windsor, to the school district, of which he was treasurer, and to the business carried on in East Windsor by his father, Ebenezer Grant (1708-1797), merchant, and other family members.

The collection is comprised of correspondence between Jean, his children and family members in France from about 1856 to around 1913; French military and identity records; three memorial books and newspaper obituary clippings for various members of the family; a small prayer book in French; and assorted photographs, along with a photo album documenting family vacations around 1913 which contains some loose items. It also includes correspondence between Jean and his close friend from France, George Marion, who was serving in the Volunteer 1st Connecticut Cavalry, Company A, during May 1862 from the Virginia battle front. The collection contains a compact disc with digital copies of many of the papers found in the collection, as well as some extra material about the family's genealogy written by the donor, Suzanne Barbier Scheele.

Probate record books, volumes 1-34, 1759-1924; 4 volumes of bonds, 1868-1951; and 1 unnumbered volume, 1900-1921. Contact the probate court to access original record books numbered after 34. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Much of the correspondence pertains to the Read and Snow families from the effort to prove Nellie A. Faxon's Mayflower descent. Most of the material related to patriotic societies concerns Mrs. Faxon. Included are her application and membership certificate to the Daughters of the American Revolution; correspondence concerning her membership in the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, as well as by-laws of that organization; applications to the Society of Mayflower Descendents along with correspondence regarding the whereabouts of her genealogical chart; and applications to the Society of Sons of the American Revolution. Also present are Walter C. Faxon's membership certificates to the Society of Colonial Wars and the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Other items in the collection include correspondence and membership lists related to Mrs. Faxon's involvement with the YMCA Woman's Auxiliary; a genealogy chart that shows Walter C. Faxon's paternal lines; historical documents including a number of deeds from Lyme, Conn. dated 1746 to 1801; and photographs of both Walter C. and Nellie A. Faxon.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Tax and school records for the town of Hampton.

Probate record books, 1748-1965. Contact the probate court to access record books not listed below. Volumes titled "Journal" record the proceedings of the court. Volumes titled "Estates" are orders and decrees.See Alternative Form Available note below.

Papers by Subject consists of records in certain subject categories that were removed from Litchfield County Court Files as State Library staff reorganized them in the 1920s or 1930s. These artificial collections were pulled together to assist researchers by identifying material relating to topics of interest. The categories are organized alphabetically, and then arranged chronologically within each category.

Preston Town Records consist of twenty-nine boxes and twenty-one volumes and the materials are divided into ten different series. Administrative Records comprise the largest series, followed by Tax Records, Court Records, and School Records.

Files consist of 347 boxes containing the original materials filed with the Litchfield County Court. These are the documents that initiated civil lawsuits and criminal actions in the years between the county's founding in 1751 and 1855. While the records relating to each file vary by case, common documents include writs, summonses, motions filed by the parties, jury verdicts, and statements of court costs. Some cases include depositions made by witnesses or executions filed after a judgment was rendered. Many executions (authorizations from the court for the winning party to collect the amount owed to him) have been removed from Files and can now be found in Litchfield County. County Court. Papers by Subject: Executions. The same is true for some court costs.

Probate record books, 1752-1759. Volume 1 only. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 2. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The collection consists of records of 188 court cases involving either African Americans or Native Americans. A careful search of the Files for the Litchfield County Court discovered 165 on African Americans and 23 on Native Americans, about one third of the total that was found in Files for the New London County Court for the period up to the American Revolution. A couple of reasons exist for this vast difference in numbers. First, Litchfield County was organized much later than New London, one of Connecticut's four original counties. New London was the home of four of seven recognized tribes, was a trading center, and an area of much greater wealth. Second, minority population in the New London County region has been tracked and tabulated by Barbara Brown and James Rose in Black Roots of Southeastern Connecticut.¹ Although this valuable work does not include all of Negro or Indian background, it provides a wonderful starting point and it has proven to be of some assistance in tracking down minorities in Litchfield County. In most instances, however, identification is based upon language in the documents and knowledge of surnames or first names.² Neither surname nor first name provides an invariably reliable guide so it is possible that some minorities have been missed and some persons included that are erroneous.

Pomfret Town Records consist of seventeen boxes and the papers are arranged in ten series. Tax Records forms the largest series, followed by Election Records, Administrative Records, and Court Records.

Probate record books, Volume 2-42, 1757-1928. Volume 1 was not transferred to the Connecticut State Library. Contact the probate court to access original record books after Volume 42. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The Stark Family Papers consists of ten boxes of Correspondence, Family Papers, and Books.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Administrative, school, military and land records for the town of Salisbury.

Administrative, military, land, vital, school and tax records for the town of Somers.

The collection appears to have been inventoried in 1932 and in 1936. Two people employed under the W.P.A. program arranged the records in groups of like material organized by date. The archivist has retained that general organization and divided the materials into ten Series.

Administrative, election, court, land, school and tax records for the town of Wolcott.

Series 1. Administrative Records, 1760-1938, 1971, contain a variety of papers including bonds, corporation reports, appointment of overseers, roads and highways, appointment of overseers, petitions, selectmen's report, town meeting notices and votes and treasurer's records. Nineteenth century town officials were generally bonded and the records contain bonds primarily for collector and constable although bonds for town clerk and treasurer are also present. There are also bonds for the keeping of a victualling house and for the sale of liquor. Corporations represented in the corporation reports are the Amenia and Sharon Land Company, Sharon Valley Malleable and Gray Iron Company, Sharon Valley Iron Company and Webotuck Mining Company. Appointments of overseers were made by selectmen over those who were not capable of handling their own affairs. Petitions to the selectmen ask for special town meetings to be called. Reasons include a proposed addition to the town hall, selling of liquor, taxes, auditing of town treasurer and collector, and the alteration of a highway from Cornwall Bridge to Ellsworth. Town governments devoted considerable time and attention to the construction and maintenance of roads and highways. The bulk of the papers related to this activity are surveys but costs, assessments of damages, a description of highway districts, and receipts for maintenance are also present. Annual financial reports of the selectmen contain the type of information that is later printed in town reports. The bulk of the town meeting notices and votes concern the annual election of officers and adopting of town resolutions. Among the treasurer's records are four volumes of journals, two volumes of town orders, as well as correspondence, orders received from justices of the peace, notes for money owed the town, receipts for payments made, and annual reports. Also present is an 1829 copy of the patent for Sharon and a 1879 copy of the resolution incorporating the town.

East Haddam Town Records are housed in 30 boxes, 26 of which consist of Administrative Records, another 2 of Poor Relief Records, and with a scattering of materials on other subjects in the remaining 2 boxes of the collection.

The records document the history and restoration of the Henry Whitfield House located in Guilford, Connecticut. The records consist of blueprints, correspondence, committee reports, deeds, family papers, insurance records, financial statements, trustee meeting minutes, photographs, and miscellaneous records from Guilford. The family papers contain correspondence of the following families: Chittenden, Griffing, Griswold, Leete, and Winters.

The records of the Connecticut Historical Commission are divided into one subgroup and three series. Subgroup one contains correspondence, reports, and other documentation on the restoration of the Henry Whitfield House, a State Historical Museum in Guilford, together with deeds and other papers on Guilford families. The second series relates to the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut, which lasted from 1974-1978, and documentation includes subject files, clippings, and scrapbooks. The third series contain a small volume of resolutions expressing gratitude, sorrow and respect, or other form of acknowledgement for members and citizens. Finally, there are six boxes of microfiche on the Connecticut Historical Commission's Statewide Historic Resources Inventory.

The records of the town of East Windsor consist of materials divided into seven series - Administrative, Court and Law Enforcement, Military, School, Election, Tax, and Other Records.

Tax records for the town of Guilford.

Probate record books, volumes 1-51, 1769-1942. Contact the probate court to access original record books numbered after 51. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Series 1, National Society includes newsletters, 1905-1963; bound proceedings of the Associate Council, 1932-1958; scrapbooks, 1936-1954, that include newspaper and magazine clippings, announcements of meetings, rosters, historian's reports, photographs, etc.; histories, circa 1942, are typescripts that include "History of National Society, United States Daughters of 1812, State of Connecticut," by Mrs. Henry Wheeler Warren, circa 1942; and a "History of Administration of Mrs. Clarence F.R. Jenne," by the same author, undated; reports, 1922-1923, that include the Associate Council Annual Messages and Reports for 1922 and 1923; and the Report of Historian National, 1938 and 1939; publications; and historical manuscripts, 1769-1922. Series 2, Connecticut Society includes the charter, 1906; minutes, 1939-1963; programs, 1935-1968; papers, 1935-1990; and scrapbooks, circa 1907-2003.

Records of the standing committee that met, largely at Gov. Jonathan Trumbull's "War Office" in Lebanon, during the American Revolution.

The records of the Town of Lebanon are arranged in nine series and fill twenty boxes. Tax Records comprise the largest one, followed by Administrative Records and Poor Relief Records.

Series 1. Pauper Accounts, 1809-1917, contains 8 volumes.

Tax, election and Borough of Worthington meeting records for the town of Berlin.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The official record books of the General Assembly.

Administrative, tax, and school records for the town of Killingworth.

Probate record books, 1778-1978. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 16. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The records include annual reports, applications for membership, historical papers, minutes of meetings, scrapbooks, and treasurer's records.

Tax and school records for the town of Greenwich.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books, None. Contact the probate court to access original record books. See Alternative Form Available note below.

Probate record books, volumes 1-10, 1782-1840. There is a separate index volume. Contact the probate court to access original record books after volume 10. See Alternative Form Available note below.

The records of the Town of Lyme consist of six boxes of materials divided into nine different series. Administrative Records comprise the largest series, followed by Tax Records.

Probate record books, Volumes 1-25, 1782-1923. Contact the probate court to access record books after Volume 25.

Administrative and tax records for the town of Windsor.

Administrative and tax records for the town of Coventry.

Administrative, tax, election, military, land, school vital records for the town of Canton.