5 Crucial Dates in 17th Century Colonial Connecticut History That May Impact Your Genealogy

The records of your ancestors are shaped by what was happening around them. Sometimes that was changes in law; sometimes changes in politics; sometimes warfare; something else.

Here are five crucial dates in the history of 17th century colonial Connecticut that may impact your genealogy research:

What else was happening in this period? King Philip’s War, to start!

5 Tips for Researching a Connecticut Ancestor’s Civil War Service

  1. Pay attention to the unit designation. It will tell you where to find the records (and will be needed for ordering copies). Most Connecticut units will be labelled as “CV” or Connecticut Volunteers. Connecticut Volunteers were raised and staffed in state, and as such will have state level records of management. However, the 30th Connecticut, as it was not fully staffed, became part of the 31st USCT. The USCT or United States Colored Troops were Federal units. They were raised and staffed by the US Government and most likely will have few state level records of management. These soldiers were still part of their communities and should be represented accordingly.
  2. Know that the bulk of digitized records for Connecticut soldiers are federal. Because CV units were directed as part of the Union Army, duplicate records of muster rolls and more were kept by the federal government. These musters have been abstracted as part of the Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR), and the abstracts can be obtained from the National Archives. Some are digitized on Fold3. Pension files for Civil War soldiers were only issued by the federal government. Again, some have been digitized by Fold3. Others will need to be requested.
  3. Yet, be aware there are numerous manuscript records held by the Connecticut State Library. See here for a finding aid. These sources may allow you to complete a deeper dive. For example, the State Library holds the records of Fitch’s Home for Soldiers, the precursor to the State Veterans Home.
  4. If you’re simply trying to confirm service, there was a state produced reference text: Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Army and Navy of the United States during the War of the Rebellion.
  5. Don’t forget to look local! There may be additional records available on the town level, including town level monuments and memorials; manuscripts and letters; records of the Grand Army of the Republic chapter (Union veterans association) and more.

Veteran’s Death Index

A project of the Connecticut State Library, the Veteran’s Death Index can be helpful for documenting service or veteran burial locations through the early 1980s. Cards may include the veteran’s name, war, age, death and burial location, service information, and source of the information. Cards may cover both in state burials and out of state burials of Connecticut veterans. Information about the index, along with direct links to images of the cards can be found on the State Library website.

FamilySearch recently added the cards to their collection. If you’d prefer to browse, you can do so through the link on the State Library page. Cards are key word searchable in FamilySearch AI.

Land Records: Key Part of Colonial Connecticut Research

Land records are often the last record a genealogist checks. They can be challenging to navigate, and there’s a significant chance they do not indicate relationships. Yet, especially in colonial Connecticut, they are a must check document for one simple reason: land was key to a family’s survival.

In an agrarian society, land was a family’s most valuable position. That’s how they earned their income and how they passed wealth to the next generation. Because land was so important, families were careful to record any changes in title, even when they skipped other records.

For information on how to access land records, click on the link below.

How to Access Land Records

Land records vary in their contents.Some list as little as the names of the buyer and seller and the property description. Others include multiple family relationships. You won’t know the level of detail without checking!

This land record explains that the seller is selling land that “was given by will from my Grandfather Fitch unto my mother Anna Stark.” That short sentence identifies the mother’s full name as Anna (Fitch) Stark.

Happy hunting!

What is coverture, and why does it matter?

Coverture or coverture is a legal principle of English common law that was commonly applied in colonial America: it essentially made a married woman a part of her husband’s legal entity. Connecticut did not begin to chip away at the principle until the mid-19th century.

Prior to that point, a married woman was subject to the principles of coverture. That meant that she could not own or inherit land or make wills in her own right (with exceptions). Those restrictions can impact your research.

Here are some conditions you might see:

  • Property inherited from the woman’s father being sold by the daughter and her husband.
  • A woman disappearing from records after her husband’s death (as she owned no property in her own right).
  • Children selling the mother’s dower right (life use on 1/3rd of the property).
  • No will for the mother.

The specific impact of coverture will vary based on the time period and family, but it’s crucial to know that the principle is in play when researching an ancestor.

Resources for researching the history of your Connecticut Home

Historic homes were witnesses to Connecticut’s history. Connecticut’s oldest known home dates to 1639. Other buildings saw the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and more. Telling the history of your home can help place it in the context of your community. It may even earn you tax credits!

Land Records:

Architectural Resources

Tax Credit Programs:

What sources do you need to check to answer a question about an ancestor in colonial Connecticut?

If you’ve done genealogy for long enough, you’ve probably heard mention of the “Genealogical Proof Standard” and the idea of “reasonably exhaustive research.” That standard is designed to help genealogists ensure that their conclusions are well reasoned and based on an accurate reading of the evidence. Reasonably exhaustive research means that you’ve checked all of the sources reasonably likely to answer a question.

What does that actually mean when you’re researching an ancestor from colonial Connecticut? There are some common sources you should consider when you’re trying to answer a research question.

Date and place of birth:

Reasonably Exhaustive:

  • Town vital records. This is one of the few sources likely to list a full date of birth.
  • Church baptismal records. Anglican records may list a full birth date; Congregational records are likely just to indicate if the person was still a child.
  • Gravestone: The age at death can often be used to calculate a birth.

Worth Checking:

  • Freeman’s Oath: Only “of age” white males were eligible, so it provides a good starting point.
  • Guardianship: If the parent died when the child was a minor, they could choose their own guardian at 14.

Marriage Record:

Reasonably exhaustive:

  • Town marriage records
  • Church marriage records
  • Parental probate
  • Interfamily land transfer

Death:

Reasonably Exhaustive:

  • Town death records
  • Gravestone
  • Church burial records
  • Probate files

Worth checking: Land sales

Military Service:

Reasonably exhaustive:

  • Public Records of the Colony and Public Records of the State: These transcriptions of the records of the state’s government will note military appointments.
  • Connecticut Archives: These records include militia appointments.
  • Connecticut Men in the Revolution: A list of state level military service

Starting Your Holiday Shopping? Favorite Connecticut Genealogy Database Providers…

Database subscriptions are always a popular gift for genealogists. So which ones do I use most?

Actually, my favorite site for Connecticut research is free! FamilySearch requires registration but does not charge. The site hosts older land records, images of church records, pre-1900 vital records, probate files, and more.

Ancestry is great for Connecticut’s probate estate papers (they’re on FamilySearch as well, but they’re easier to search on Ancestry) and the Connecticut Church Record Abstracts (this is a searchable index to the original records available on FamilySearch ). FYI to Connecticut based researchers – you can access these collections for free from home here, using your local library card number. Click on “Connecticut State Library Ancestry.com” to log in.

And finally, American Ancestors offers access to local genealogy journals so that you can review prior research on your ancestors. (It’s also wonderful for research on early settlements through the Great Migration Study Project.)

What was the 1780 quota act – and why does it matter?

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the several towns within this State shall forthwith choose a committee who shall divide all the inhabitants thereof, who give in a list or are included in any militia roll, either of the trainband, alarm list or companies of horse, into as many classes according to their list as such town shall be deficient in number of men,and each of said classes shall on or before the first day of February next procure a good able-bodied effective recruit to serve during the war or for three years[…]

Military Obligation: The American Tradition, Special Monograph No. 1, Volume II, Part 2, Connecticut Enactments (N.P.: The Selective Service System, 1948), 174-175; digital images, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Military_Obligation_Connecticut_Enactmen/YpxHAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22An%20act%20for%20filling%20up%20this%20state’s%20quota%20of%20the%20Continental%20Army.%22&pg=PA238&printsec=frontcover)

By 1780, the Continental Army was short handed. A request was sent to the states to supply a certain number of men. In response, Connecticut instituted what might be described as an early version of the draft. Each town was assigned a certain number of men to provide. The 1780 quota act offered a method for filling the positions.

The act’s impact was especially significant for Connecticut’s men of color. The act permitted the engagement of substitutes in order to meet the quota. Individuals held in slavery were not subject to the state’s militia laws, and therefore, were not already required to serve. Connecticut’s units were integrated, so men of color could serve. “Hiring” an enslaved individual to serve as a substitute became a common practice.

If your ancestor enlisted in the Continental Army about 1780, the quota system was likely the reason why.

My Ancestor should have a Connecticut death record, but I can’t find it. Why?

If your ancestor died after 1900, they should have a death record. Connecticut began statewide recording on 1 July 1897, so compliance improved dramatically at that point. Yet, sometimes you still can’t find a record. Very rarely, there is actually not a record. It’s more common to just miss it. Why?

There are two common reasons:

  1. The spelling of your ancestor’s name on the record isn’t the one that you’re using. This is a common problem in the early 20th century with families who immigrated to the United States. Clerks may not have spoken the same language as your ancestor and may have recorded who they thought a name was spelled instead of the correct spelling. Be sure to check “sound alike” spellings.
  2. They didn’t die in Connecticut. The fact that your ancestor was buried in Connecticut doesn’t mean they actually died here. If you can find a burial location but not a death record, consider asking the town for the burial transit permit. They’re required to be filed if the body is moved into the town for burial and should list the date and place of death.

Still stuck? Contact us with questions.