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Hartford County, CT history

We are happy to offer the following items of genealogy and local history from and pertaining to Hartford County, CT.

We will be offering additional material about this locale in the future, so please check back with us frequently to see it.

 

Now Available for Download:

Newington from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume III (1897) by Edwin Stanley Welles.  This is our second publication about Newington, the other being our republication of Early Annals of Newington, by Roger Welles, which was written around a quarter century earlier and focuses on a different era of Newington's history.  See our Newington page for more information.

 

Early Annals of Newington -- Please see our Newington page.

 

Center Church, Hartford, burials (1749-1784) -- a three-part article from the Connecticut Quarterly (1898) including lists.  22+ pages. Download in PDF format, $4.50 

Center Cemetery, Hartford burials

 

The Owl for 1917.  The Yearbook of Hartford High School, Hartford, CT. --   This is one of the nicest yearbooks we have published, as well as being one of the earliest.  If you have a family connection with Hartford High School in this period, or if you have an interest in the community itself in this timeframe, this book has a wealth of information waiting for you.

 

212 pages (including lots of ads), in PDF format.  $5.00

 

 

The Tattler for 1936.  The Yearbook of Bloomfield High School, Bloomfield, ConnecticutHigh school yearbooks capture moments in time – or at least the best of them do.  This one, soft cover and limited size included, give us a glimpse of Bloomfield during the Great Depression.  There are vestiges – we think of the humor section as one – of a kinder, gentler age.  The advertisements are fascinating:  “Grade B milk” and “Quencho, the Newest and Best chocolate drink” stand out.  For those with parents or grandparents pictured in the book, it will have a meaning of its own, of course.  For those pictured (and we note that the younger classes are not included, unlike most yearbooks) this is a mini-biography of lives early in their trajectory.  Here are the graduating seniors:  Lillian Ahrens, Ruth Banfield, Kenneth Barker, Louis Barnard, Barbara Bestor, Elma Bidwell, Emil Blasig, Estelle Bogardus, Oliver Brewster, Eunice Cable, William Canfield, Ruth Chappell, Douglas DeGray, Angelo Demeo, Peter D'Engenis, John Dubiski, Richard Dudenhofer, Herman Ellis, Barbara Fyler, Stanley Godlewski, Della Goodwin, Marion Goodwin, Herbert Heeber, Margaret Hood, Richard Hood, Eleanor Hube, Marion Jackson, Reid Jaroch, Elsie Johnson, James Karo, Russell Kelly, Grace Krogh, Florence Larensen, Molly Levine, Evelyn Long, Walter Malinosky, Walter Miller, Raymond Miltimore, Florence Morey, Virginia Mullaly, Winifred Mullaly, Vera Negro, Edna Neilsen, Katherine Olynik, Stella Olynik, Harold Pitt, Joseph Salach, Fred Shapiro, Frances Shepard, Norman Shupe, Russell Shupe, Helen Stark, Laura Stryjeski, Helen Szozda, Virginia Tyrrell, Olga Wendt, and Antoinette Zito.Descendents of members of the class of 1935 will appreciate the Alumni Message, together with the career updates for 1935 grads (hint: many found themselves at Traveler’s, not surprisingly).  40+ pages, in PDF format, download now for $3.50.

 The Tattler - 1936 Yearbook of Bloomfield HS, Bloomfield, CT

 

Ancient Burying Ground at Hartford -- an article about the cemetery with lists of individuals buried there from the Connecticut Quarterly  (1898).  14+ pages. Download in PDF format $3.50. 

Ancient Burying Ground at Hartford CT

 

Newgate of Connecticut, by Richard H. Phelps (1876) -- a wonderful book that encompasses some history of the original town of Simsbury, of East Granby, and even Wethersfield in its discussion of the Newgate copper mine/prison -- and now historical site.  There are extensive quotations from early records, some historical detail about the copper mining operations, and a bit about the prison.  The latter subject introduces an entire chapter devoted to the subsequent Connecticut State Prison at Wethersfield, including statistical information about the convict population, their diet, and their health.  (You may also want to check our Copper Industry in Connecticut page.) Download Newgate of Connecticut now, in PDF format, for $3.25.

 Newgate of Connecticut (1876)

 

Farmington:  Smallpox Hospital Rock, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume I (1895).  This short article about a local curiosity reflects changing attitudes about what once had been a dread disease.  6+ pages, PDF format, download now for $1.75.

 Farmington: Smallpox Hospital Rock

 

Scenes in and around Granby, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume I (1895).  A short article about the Granby countryside accompanied by photographs.  7+ pages, PDF format, download now for $1.75

 Scenes in and around Granby

 

Simsbury, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume I (1895). A profile of the town, with photographs and a poem about the burning of Simsbury in King Philip's War.  12+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.00

 Simsbury, Connecticut

 

Canton, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume I (1895).  A historical profile of the town, with particularly nice photographs.  This town also includes the historic village of Collinsville.  11+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.00

 Canton and Collinsville CT

 

Manchester: Highland Park, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume I (1895).  A short article, with photographs, of this community's park.  4+ pages, PDF format, download now for $1.75.

 Manchester: Highland Park

 

Glastonbury Sketches, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume II (1896).  Recollections of Glastonbury in a two part article (they appeared in two consecutive issues of the magazine) by Henry Storrs Goslee with numerous photographs.  18+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.00

 Glastonbury Sketches

 

Enfield, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume II (1896).  A portrait of the community, with emphasis on its history, by C. Terry Knight.  There are abundant photographs in the 16+ pages.  PDF format, download now for $3.00

 Enfield, Hartford County, CT from the Connecticut Quarterly

 

Berlin High School "The Lamp" -- Yearbook from 1955.  A nice high school yearbook of the period with senior photographs, teams, clubs, candids, prophesy and class will and testament, and ads from local merchants.  70+ pages in PDF format, download now for $5.25

 Berlin CT High School "The Lamp" 1955

 

Historic Homes of Hartford, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume I (1895).  W. Farrand Felch wrote this three-part article (which appeared in three successive numbers of the Quarterly – combined into a single download here) to celebrate what was at the time one of the wealthiest and most beautiful cities in the United States.  The three sections were entitled “Homes of Genius”, “Homes of Wealth”, and “Homes of Statecraft” and each category shows Hartford houses of the time epitomizing that quality.  Traces of Hartford when it was flush with insurance money still exist, of course, but this article shows it when it was near its peak.  32+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.00

 Historic Homes of Hartford

 

The Farmington River and its Origins, from the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume III (1897).  Today one thinks of the Farmington River, starting with its origins in Massachusetts and through its course in Connecticut, primarily in terms of scenic and recreational uses, but a century ago this was emphatically not the case.  It was dotted with industries, ranging from offshoots of the iron industry to the textile industry to power generation throughout most of its length.  Notwithstanding this, it still succeeded in retaining considerable natural beauty as this article shows.  Today, of course, the remaining ruins of the early industries are considered scenic in themselves.   21+ pages with numerous photographs, PDF format, download now for $3.25.

 Farmington River and its Origins

 

Delegates' Reports: CT Board of Agriculture (1869) -- The report from the Hartford County delegate begins on page 3 of this document.  See our Connecticut miscellany page for more information.

 

Catalog of the North Church, Hartford  (1842)  --  This is as good a church “catalog” as we have seen.  Published by a newish, but solidly established Congregational church in Hartford, it is quite complete.  An historical note observes that it was not founded in some doctrinal split or battle of personalities, but simply because its parent congregation had grown too large for its building.  It provides a nice statement of faith, with biblical citations (often omitted) and bylaws that seem to have been appropriate to its operation.  Most people will find the roll of members the most important section of it.  This is nicely executed, providing in some cases family relationships in addition to names, providing the date admitted (month and year), and, where the member came from another church, the name and location of the church where the person had previously been a member, all of which will be of use to genealogists and family historians seeking to document any of these bits of information.  25+ pages, in PDF format, download now for $3.25

 North Church, Hartford, 1842

 

Janus of East Hartford High School for 1943 -- This is an excellent example of a mid-World War II high school yearbook.  From the dedication, to classmates already serving, and throughout the book, there is no doubt that the fact that "there's a war on" is top of mind for this high school.  Very little fluff in this volume, but -- of course -- photos and credentials of graduating seniors and group photos of Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen.  A useful document of East Hartford in wartime.  87+ pages, in PDF format, download now for $5.00.

 East Hartford HS 1943 Janus

 

Reminiscences of Life in the Farmington Valley, in The Lure of the Litchfield Hills  - Volume XX, no. 3, Winter 1960.  This issue covered a particular research topic of ours, namely women spies in American conflicts.  (The subject was one Patience Wright, a spy during the American Revolution).  Other topics in this issue included articles about skiing, about Litchfield village, about Barkhamsted, about Admiral Andew H. Foote, the haven of Litchfield, Ethan Allen, the Farmington Valley, and Ichabod Crane -- a real mixed bag.  Click here for more information.

 

The Suffield High School Sagitta for 1948.  This high school yearbook, formerly part of our discontinued Suffield CD-ROM, is now available as a download.  See our Suffield page for more information and to download it.

 

Suffield: Quarter Millennial.  This combination of town history, program for the 250th anniversary celebration, and compendium of lists of information about the town, all with our new index, was once the centerpiece of the discontinued Suffield CD-ROM, and now it is available as a download.  See our Suffield page for more information and to download it.

 

1924-5 Year Book and Church Directory of the First Church of Christ, Congregational of Suffield.  An interesting document, including a history of the church, a roll of historic ministers of the church, and two rolls of members, current and "absent".  See our Suffield page for more information and to download it.

 

Suffield:  Miscellanous Items.  Here's a set of smaller items about Suffield.  Included are an article about Suffield from the first volume of the Connecticut Quarterly, a few pages from The Connecticut Guide, The Suffield entry from the 1927 Connecticut Register, and a number of photos and ephemera about Suffield from many different sources.  See our Suffield page for more information and to download it.

 

See also our Copper Industry in Connecticut page!

 

 

Hartford County items currently awaiting publication:

--A large number of additional items from the Connecticut Quarterly

Needless to say, we're always looking for additional Hartford County material to publish.

CLICK HERE to return to our Connecticut page

 

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Contacting us:

Between the Lakes Group is located at 372 Between the Lakes Road, in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut.  More specifically, we're in Taconic -- a hamlet  in the Twin Lakes area of the Town of Salisbury.  Questions about us or about our products?  Go to our Frequently Asked Questions page.  

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