Where do I start researching New Haven Colony?

Looking for the records of ancestors residing in New Haven Colony?

Here’s where to start:

Records:

• New Haven Colony:
  • Hoadly, Charles J. Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, From 1638 to 1649. Hartford: Case, Tiffany and Company, 1857. Available from HathiTrust at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007668636.
  • Hoadly, Charles J. Records of the Colony or Jurisdiction of New Haven, From May, 1653, to the Union. Hartford: Case, Lockwood and Company, 1858. Available at Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo00newh/page/n9/mode/2up.
• Records of towns in New Haven Colony:
  • New Haven: Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, Ed.  Ancient Town Records Volume I: New Haven Town Records 1649-1662. New Haven: Printed for the Society, 1917. Available on HathiTrust at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89067363812&seq=5.
  • Stamford: Stamford Town Clerk, “Town records, 1630-1806,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/443705?availability=Family%20History%20Library: accessed 18 May 2024). An annotated version of the transcription is available from the New England Historic and Genealogical Society as Stamford Town Records: Volume 1, 1641-1723.
  • Branford + Guilford: Town meeting records do not appear to have been transcribed or digitized.
• Manuscript Collections:  New Haven Museum (https://www.newhavenmuseum.org/about/history-of-nhm/) focuses on the towns of the former New Haven Colony.
• Probate: Probate cases were handled as part of the proceedings of the General Court and as such are included in the Colony records.
• Vital Records: Vital records are maintained as part of the town records. Some records have been digitized by FamilySearch:
  • Branford: Original records not digitized. An index/abstract (Barbour Collection) is available  at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/295370?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
  • Guilford: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/365250?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
  • Milford: Original records not digitized. An index/abstract (Barbour Collection) is available  at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/295370?availability=Family%20History%20Library
  • New Haven: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/580583?availability=Family%20History%20Library
  • Stamford: Original records not digitized. An index/abstract (Barbour Collection) is available at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/120614?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
• Church Records:
  • Guilford: Per the FamilySearch catalog entry at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/43407?availability=Family%20History%20Library, the earliest church records can be found in town record books.
  • Branford: Per the FamilySearch catalog entry at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/123017?availability=Family%20History%20Library, the first volume of church records may have travelled to Newark with Rev. Pierson.
  • Milford: Records for First Church can be found digitized at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/457066?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
  • New Haven: Records of First Church can be found digitized at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/82120?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
  • Stamford: In his Abstract of church records of the town of Stamford, county of Fairfield, and state of Connecticut, from the earliest records extant to 1850, Spencer P. Mead indicates that early church records were recorded in town meeting books. (pp.2).
• Land Records: Land records are maintained as part of the town records in the town in which the property was located at the time of the event. Most Connecticut land records can only be accessed through a FamilySearch affiliate.
  • New Haven Land Records: From 1659, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/331754?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
  • Guilford: From 1645, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/358853?availability=Family%20History%20Library. (Accessible from home.)
  • Branford: From 1645, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/157834?availability=Family%20History%20Library. (Accessible from home.)
  • Milford: From 1639, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/359969?availability=Family%20History%20Library. (Accessible from home.)
  • Stamford: From 1666, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/360284?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
• Family Sketches: Atwater, Edward E. History of the Colony of New Haven to Its Absorption into Connecticut. New Haven: Printed For the Author, 1881. Available on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/historycolonyne00smitgoog/page/654/mode/2up.
• Newark:
  • Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society: Volume VI. Newark, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Society, 1864. Available on FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/118315. The volume covers town meeting records beginning in 1666.