Today, “junior” and “senior” are used to differentiate between direct line family members of the same name, most often father and son. That was not always the case in colonial Connecticut.
In a 1979 article – George E. McCracken, “Terms of Relationship in Colonial Times,” The American Genealogist Vol. 55 (1979): 53; digital images, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org: accessed 23 November 2023) – George McCracken explains the use of the terms in colonial Connecticut:
“[…] there is present in the town more than one person of the same name, and the elder is called Senior and the younger Junior, and if there are still more, ‘III’ or ‘IV’ may also be used.”
In other words, junior and senior may not be related. The terms were simply a convenient way to identify who was who in that moment. The order may change if someone was born, died, moved into or left town.
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 