Does the death record of your New York, Ohio, or Michigan ancestor list a birth place of Connecticut? Is there a profile in a county history listing a county of birth? It’s common for researchers to use that information to try to leap right into researching in Connecticut records… You shouldn’t.
To start, you don’t really have enough information to find your ancestor in Connecticut. Most Connecticut records are stored on the town level. That means you need to know the town to find your ancestor’s records. Yes, there are resources that allow you to search across multiple towns, such as the Barbour Collection. Yet, these resources may not include every known record: the Church Record Abstracts, for example, include only 25% of the State Library’s Collection. And ancestors often skipped recording certain types of records. Birth records were required beginning in the 1640s; compliance was not general until after 1900.
Second, you’re likely missing records that may contain information. Particularly after 1800, it was possible for an ancestor to go right from Connecticut to a farm in New York or the Midwest. Yet, it was just as likely for a family to move 2, 3, or 4 times. Unless you’ve checked their migration pattern and built a strong timeline, you won’t know.
How do you build that timeline? Those vital records, probate files, county histories, and obituaries you’ve already found can provide a good starting point. Add in the census, and most importantly land records. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to trace the family move by move and perhaps find additional information in the process.
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 