Connecticut History Connections

A few weeks ago, I splurged and bought four books about Connecticut History. As I began reading them, I realized that a great number of the individuals mentioned in these books, including some of whom I had never heard of before, had surnames that were familiar to me from the building out of my family tree. So, I decided that as I was going through the books, that I would build a list of all these individuals and see just how many of them were related to me. Since I have very deep roots in CT and New England, I thought that I might find several connections.

I am building this blog post over a period of several weeks as I continue to work through both reading these books and investigating the individuals listed in them. Some of these investigations may require a total separate posting and, if so, I’ll link to it from here.

Disclaimer

Note: Cousin relationships are designated nCmX for nth cousin, m times removed. Grandparent relationships are designed nGG for Great*n Grandparent. If relationship is to my wife rather than myself, then the designation “(DR)” will be added.

 

Creating Connecticut – Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State

Author: Walter W. Woodward

 

This book contains 24 chapters, 12 longer ones and 12 short ones. Some are about historical events, but others have a key individual or individuals as their focus. For those chapters about individuals, I will list the names of the individuals, their relationship to me, and where appropriate the portion of that individual’s family tree back to where we have a common ancestor.

What’s a Puritan, and Why didn’t they stay in Massachusetts?

·        Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) (9GG)

Controversial Statues Standing … at least for now

·        John Mason (1600-1672) (no known relation)

·        Henry Daniel Cogswell (1820-1900) (no known relation)

Connecticut: New England’s Fiercest Witch Hunter

·        John Winthrop, Jr (1606-1676) (2C12X)

Benjamin Collins, Rock Star

·        Benjamin Collins (1681-1759) (no known relation)

Eleazer Wheelock, The Great Awakening, Samson Occom, and Moor’s Indian Charity School

·        See separate posting It's All In The Family

The Hanging of Moses Paul

·        See separate posting Killed by an Indian

Rough Justice for Nathan Hale

·        Nathan Hale (1755-1776) (3C8X)

·        Robert Rogers (1731-1795) (no known relation) Turned Nathan in

·        William Hull (1753-1825) (4C7X) Nathan’s friend

·        Consider Tiffany (1732-1796) (2C8X) (DR) Wrote about story

·        Thomas Knowlton (1740-1776) (4C7X) (DR) Nathan’s commanding officer

Rooted in Place: The Story of Lyman Orchards

·        John Lyman (1717-1763) (2C8X)

Mark Twain and the Historic House Problem

·        Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) (1835-1910) (7C4X)

·        John Marshall Clemens (1798-1847)

·        Samuel B Clemens (1773-1805)

·        Jeremiah Clemens (1732-1811)

·        Ezekiel Clements (1695-1778)

·        Hannah Gove (1664-?)

·        Hannah Partridge (1641-1712)

·        William Partridge (1615-1654)

·        John Partridge (1578-1647) (10GG)

Henry Greene and the Final Underground

·        Samuel Welles (1802-1878) (4C6X)

A Historian Comes Home

·        Walter W. Woodward (author) (9C2X)

 

Hidden History of Connecticut

Author: Wilson H. Faude

 

This short book (about 120 pages) is composed of 30 chapters, each just a few pages long. Each chapter is about an individual, an object, or a historical moment in the history of the state that people may be unaware of. Some of these chapters may not list any individuals, others may have a couple of related ones. In the below I will give the name of the chapter, the individual(s) in that chapter that I have investigated and my relationship to them (if there is one).

Colt Park – Elizabeth Hart Jarvis [Colt] (1826-1905 (6C4X))

·        Elizabeth Hart (1798-1881)

·        Richard Hart (1768-1837)

·        William Hart (1746-1817)

·        William Hart (1713-1784)

·        John Hart (1682-1731)

·        Thomas Hart (1640-1726)

·        Stephen Hart (1602-1683) (9GG)

A Love Story – Nathaniel Horton Batchelder (1917-2005) (9C1X)

·        Nathaniel Batchelder (1880-1956)

·        Martha Osgood Horton (1855-1944)

·        Harriet Maria Symonds (1832-)

·        Harriot Fillebrown (1811-1896)

·        Nancy Anna Rand (1779-1857)

·        Abraham Rand (1757-1805)

·        Thomas Rand (1720-1787)

·        Ebenezer Rand (1688-1743)

·        Nathaniel Rand (1636-1696)

·        Robert Rand (1590-1639) (9GG)

He Saved the Constitution – Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807) (2C9X)

·        David Ellsworth (1709-1782)

·        Sarah Grant (1675-1755)

·        Hannah Palmer (1640-?)

·        Nicholas Palmer (1614-1689) (10GG)

A One-Time Promotion – Morton Hansen (1898-1977) (no relation, from Denmark)

A Farmington Christmas – Theodate Pope [Riddle] (1867-1946) (8C2X)

·        Ada Brooks (1844-1920)

·        Judith Thwing (1816-1860)

·        Joshua Thwing (1784-1865)

·        Hannah Carpenter (1757-1795)

·        William Carpenter (1721-1809)

·        Benjamin Carpenter (1680-1727)

·        Benjamin Carpenter (1658-1727)

·        Joseph Carpenter (1634-1675)

·        William Carpenter (1605-1659) (9GG)

The Ultimate Gift for Mom – Henry Keney/Keeney (1806-1894) (4C5X)

·        Rebecca Turner (1766-1848)

·        Ebazer Turner (1746-1768)

·        Stephen Turner (1719-1801)

·        Mercy Abbott (1692-1772)

·        John Abbott (1662-1720) (8GG)

Frederic Church – Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) (5C4X)

·        Joseph Church (1793-1876)

·        Samuel Church (1758-1844)

·        Caleb Church (1703-1760)

·        John Church (1670-1735)

·        John Church (1636-1691)

·        Richard Church (1608-1667) (9GG)

A Museum for Nature, History and Art in Greenwich – Robert Moffat Bruce (1822-1909) (no CT heritage)

Christmas on Main Street – Daniel Butler (1751-1812) (3C8X)

·        Moses Butler (1716-1801)

·        Jonathan Caldwell Butler (1668-1755)

·        Samuel Butler (1639-1692)

·        Richard Butler (1610-1684) (10GG)

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Christmas – Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) (5C4X)

·        See separate posting Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe

Douglas Orr, Architect – Douglas Orr (1892-1966) (from Scotland)

Shakespeare in Stratford – Lawrence Langner (1890-1962) (from Wales)

The Arts of Old Lyme – Florence Griswold (1850 -1937)

·        Helen Powers (1820-1899)

·        Julia Collins (1787-1852)

·        Darius Collins (1740-1822)

·        Oliver Collins (1710-1788)

·        John Collins (1663-1752)

·        Mary Trowbridge (1642-1668)

·        William Trowbridge (1633-1688)

Meriden in the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Charles Parker (1809-1902) (2C6X)

·        Stephen Parker (1759-1846)

·        Susanna Hotchkiss (1717-1789)

·        Daniel Hotchkiss (1687-1733) (7GG)

Bridgeport’s Barnum – Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) (4C6X)

·        Philo Barnum (1778-1826)

·        Rachel Starr (1740-1798)

·        Jonathan Starr (1702-1751)

·        John Starr (1684-1739)

·        Josiah Starr (1657-1715) (9GG)

Eric Sloane’s Museum – Everard Jean Hinrichs (1905-1985) (no relation)

Where it Began: Woodbury – Samuel Seabury (1729-1796) (6C7X)

·        Abigail Mumford (1710-1731)

·        Thomas Mumford (1687-1760)

·        Thomas Mumford (1656-1726)

·        Sarah Sherman (1636-1690)

·        Philip Sherman (1610-1687)

·        Samuel Sherman (1573-1615)

·        Henry Sherman (1546-1610) (12GG)

John Rogers, The People’s Sculptor – John Rogers (1829-1904) (6C5X)

·        John Rogers (1800-1884)

·        Daniel Rogers (1751-1825)

·        Anna Foxcroft (1719-1785)

·        Anna Coney (1696-1749)

·        Mary Atwater (1659-1726)

·        Joshua Atwater (1711-1676)

·        John Atwater (1567-1636) (10GG)

 

Connecticut – A History

Author: David M. Roth

 

Unlike the prior two books which were a series of vignettes, this is a chronological telling of the entire history of the state. There are 220 dense pages of text broken up into only 9 chapters for the various time periods covered, all the way to the present day. Since individuals are not featured, the names of these individuals appear in the middle of a dense paragraph, perhaps just a single time as the individual is involved in one of the historical events covered. Some of the names are not even of individuals with a connection to the state, for example when discussing the involvement of a regiment of soldiers from the state in the Civil War encountering Robert E Lee’s Army.

Thus, I chose to extract all the names listed in the index (there are 47 of them), but for some they are simply annotated below as “(not from CT)” or other such markings. There are no dates of birth or death associated with any individual in the book, but most of them are fairly well-known individuals so I have used other sources to find the relevant dates.

·        Allen, Ethan (1738-1789) (3C8X via Henry Burt)

·        Andros, Sir Edmund (1637-1714) (not from CT)

·        Arnold, Benedict (1741-1801) (3C7X via Samuel Lothrop)

·        Bailey, John Moran (1904-1975) (no relation – Ireland)

·        Baldwin, Roger Sherman (gov) (1793-1863) (3C6X via Joseph Sherman)

·        Baldwin, Simeon (gov) (1840-1927) (4C5X via Joseph Sherman)

·        Browning, John M (not from CT)

·        Buckingham, William A (gov) (1804-1875) (5C4X via John Bronson)

·        Bushnell, Rev. Horace (1802-1883) (6C6X via Francis Bushnell)

·        Champion, Henry (col) (1610-1709) (11GG) (DR)

·        Colt, Samuel (1814-1862) (5C5X via Mary Loomis)

·        Crary, Isaac (1804-1854) (4C2X of 2^nd wife of 7GG)

·        Cross, Wilbur L (gov) (1862-1948) (6C5X via Peter Worden)

·        Davenport, Rev. John (1597-1668) (GF of 1^st wife of 7GG)

·        Deane, Silas (1737-1789) (4C9X via Walter Deane)

·        Debs, Eugene V (not from CT)

·        Dempsey, John (gov) (1915-1989) (no relation – Irish)

·        Dyer, Eliphalet (1721-1807) (3C7X via William Reade)

·        Eaton, Theophilus (1591-1657) (10GG)

·        Ellsworth, Oliver (judge) (1745-1807) (2C9X)

·        Ellsworth, William W (gov) (1791-1868) (5C6X via Robert Pond)

·        Fitch, Thomas (gov) (1699-1774) (1C8X)

·        Grant, Ulysses S (not from CT)

·        Grosso, Ella (gov) (1919-1981) (no relation – Italian)

·        Hale, Nathan (1755-1776) (3C8X)

·        Hawley, Joseph R (1826-1905) (10C1X via Francis Russell)

·        Holcomb, Marcus (gov) (1844-1932) (7C5X via Francis Bushnell)

·        Hooker, Rev. Thomas (1586-1647) (9GG)

·        Ingersoll, Jared (1749-1822) (3C8X via Thomas Trowbridge)

·        Lake, Everett J (gov) (1871-1948) (no relationship found)

·        Lee, Robert E (not from CT)

·        Lincoln, Abraham (not from CT)

·        Mallory, Charles (1796-1882) (3C6X via Peter Mallory)

·        Meskill, Thomas J (gov) (1928-2007) (no relation – Irish, etc.)

·        Newberry, Walter L (1804-1868) (5C6X via Joseph Loomis)

·        Peters, Rev Samuel (1757-1821) (4C7X via Edward Griswold)

·        Pitkin, William (gov) (1694-1769) (2C7X via Timothy Stanley)

·        Platt, Orville H (1827-1905) (6C5X via Rev. John Charles)

·        Porter, Abel (1757-1850) (3C5X) see posting The Mill on Mad River

·        Putnam, Israel (col) (1718-1790) (no relation found)

·        Ribicoff, Abraham (senator) (1910-1998) (no relation – Russian)

·        Roraback, J Henry (1870-1937) (no relation found - German from NY)

·        Seabury, Samuel (1729-1796) (6C7X)

·        Templeton, Charles (gov) (1871-1955) (9C2X via John Bartram)

·        Thomas, Seth (1785-1859) (3C5X) see posting Seth Thomas

·        Washington, George (not from CT)

·        Yale, Elihu (1649-1721) (step-2C9X, his GGM married Theophilus Eaton above)

 

Stories in Stone – How Geology Influenced Connecticut History and Culture

Author: Jelle Zeilinga de Boer

 

This is a book about geology, not genealogy. While there are a few names mentioned for things like the person who first encountered a geological formation, the focus is on the geology, not the individuals. I list the book here just for completeness as it is interesting reading and gives a context to my study of the history of Connecticut. But I will have nothing further to say here about any connections to names that are only mentioned in passing.