Why am I seeing a microfilm icon when researching Connecticut vital records on FamilySearch?

The website FamilySearch is an amazing resource for Connecticut vital records. Most pre-1900 vital records were microfilmed by FamilySearch and placed online after 2018. These records can be accessed by searching for the town name in the catalog.

When you make that search, you’ll notice that a few catalog entries still have microfilm reel images instead of the camera image you’d normally see. The camera image tells you can access the records online from home. The microfilm image means they can only be accessed on microfilm. Why?

It typically has to do with Connecticut vital records law. The short version: by law, birth certificates less than one hundred years old are not open to the public. If the microfilm contains records (even not restricted death and marriage records) created more recently than 2023, FamilySearch has restricted the film to protect the more recent records.

So, how do you access the records? Microfilms are onsite at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City and the Connecticut State Library. Depending on the contracts and restrictions on older records, both institutions may be able to retrieve copies. Check with them for details. Provided you meet the requirements of Connecticut vital records law, you can also order copies from the local town clerk or health department.

How do you find your ancestor’s Catholic records when all you have is the name of the priest?

Catholic records are a key part of researching Connecticut families who arrived from Quebec, Ireland, Italy, Poland and more. For some families, Church records will be the most detailed records of their time in the US, as they may not have trusted civil government, did not own land, and would have limited assets to leave as probate. However, Connecticut’s Catholic records are not centrally held: to access the records, you need to know the parish.

By 1910, most Catholic families were complying with vital records requirements, even if they were still married in the Catholic Church. These records will list the name of the priest – and can help identify the correct parish. (So will the ancestor’s baptismal certificate you have floating in your family records.) All you need is a reference called The Catholic Directory.

Issued in various forms by various publishers over the years, the different editions of the Catholic Directory have something in common: they tell which clergy were assigned to which churches that year. While older versions listed only the priest, modern versions include all staff. For the late 19th and early 20th century editions, check out Google Books.

What’s the Godard Digest, and how can it help with researching the probate of my Connecticut ancestors?

The Connecticut State Library probate finding aids describe the Godard Digest (Inventory Control Book) as “a list of probate files transferred to the Connecticut State Library.” It further indicates that the Godard Digest “was compiled at the Connecticut State Library under the direction of State Librarian George S. Godard.“

In Connecticut, the probate courts can transfer older records to the Connecticut Archives (housed in the Connecticut State Library) at their discretion. To determine if the records covering the period of your ancestor’s death have been transferred from the court, you can review finding aids available here.

Even if you know the State Library holds the papers from the appropriate period, how can you be sure they have your ancestor’s papers? The Godard Digest was created under the direction of George S. Godard who was State Librarian from 1900 to 1936. The Godard Digest indexes papers first by district and then by surname. Different districts have different coverage periods, so start by checking the finding aid to learn the coverage of the Godard Digest. If it covers the period necessary, check the Digest itself on FamilySearch.

What’s Connecticut Digital Archive – and how can it help my genealogy research?

Hosted by the University of Connecticut, Connecticut Digital Archive serves as a digital repository for the state’s libraries and museums. While not every state institution is a member, there are over 75 currently involved.

You can use the Digital Archive in a few ways. From the home page, you can click on “All Collections” to browse by the hosting institution. If you know your ancestor was from a specific town and wanted to check the records of the local library, this is how. You can also use “Advanced Search” to search by title, genre, keywords, and more. From experience, I recommend using the regular search only if you have time to sort through results. It often will bring more results than you intend.

What can you find on the Digital Archive? Maps, newspapers, historic photos, and more!

What newspaper covered my Connecticut ancestor?

You’ve heard about The Hartford Courant and The New Haven Register. But how do you identify the smaller newspapers that might have covered your ancestor’s day to day life?

The Connecticut State Library has a resource that can help. It allows you to enter a town name and range of years. It will return a list of newspapers published in that town, followed by regional newspapers likely to cover the area. It’s a great starting point for identifying smaller papers.

Once you’ve identified the correct newspaper, you may have to do some digging to be able to access it. (There’s no central online repository for newspapers.) Some newspapers are available through Newspapers.com, particularly the Courant. Some smaller papers are available on Chronicling America. If you still can’t find the paper online, the State Library should have access to any paper in the finding tool.

Connecticut Comptroller Records

The Connecticut State Library today announced the release of an index to the Comptroller records. The Facebook post describes the index as an “Index of Connecticut town officials requesting state aid for support of non-resident individuals in their municipality[…]”

What exactly does that mean? Someone from another town? Another state?

The answer can be found in the 1849 Statute revisions.

Chapter III
Of the Support of Paupers by the State

Sect. 22. The state shall reimburse to any town the expense incurred in relieving and supporting any sick and indigent person, not an inhabitant of this state, and who does not belong to any town in this state, and who is not by law the proper charge of any town or particular person[…]

The revised statutes of the state of Connecticut : to which are prefixed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the state of Connecticut.

The state was responsible for the support of those whose care could not legally be charged to a town – which meant they were either not born in the state or had not lived in the state long enough to establish “Inhabitant” status – or to a specific person who had brought them into the state.

How do I find Connecticut naturalization records?

When you’re searching for naturalization records, remember that 1906 is the “magic” date. The Naturalization Act of 1906 dramatically increased the level of detail found on a record and limited the number of courts in which one could be naturalized. Prior to that date, applicants could naturalize at any court. Earlier records do exist, but they often contain only the name and country (or kingdom) of origin and not the date and place of birth, spousal information, and more, often sought by genealogists. For that information, you generally are looking for a copy of a post-1906 declaration of intention.

Connecticut long ago signed a transfer agreement for naturalization records for the period after 1790. These records are transferred to the National Archives branch at Waltham, Massachusetts. Many have been digitized and can be accessed online. Use the FamilySearch wiki to locate the appropriate databases.

Free Genealogy Resources for Connecticut Residents

Are you a Connecticut resident researching your own family or a librarian, community center coordinator, or senior center coordinator working to coordinate a genealogy group? Here are some free resources that can help.

  1. FamilySearch: A free genealogy website run by the Church of the Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch has digitized images of records from throughout the country. Not every record is available from home, but local libraries can become FamilySearch affiliates and have increased access. Don’t forget to check out the classes in the learning center.
  2. The Connecticut State Library: Run by the state of Connecticut, CSL has a ton of resources for researching your family history. These include sources documenting Connecticut’s history, research texts from around the country, and even databases accessible to residents from home.
  3. ResearchITCT.org: This state run site is accessible to residents from home with your local library card and includes newspapers, access to limited Ancestry.com collections and more.
  4. Connecticut Digital Archive: A digital repository of Connecticut records, CT Digital Archive is a great place to look for newspapers and more!
  5. Chronicling America: The newspaper site of the Library of Congress, Chronicling America offers great access to older CT newspapers. Don’t forget to check out the full digital collections of the library at loc.gov.
  6. The National Archives: NARA is the repository for federal records. Many digitized records are now attached to their catalog.

Were Connecticut Revolutionary War units integrated or segregated?

Both.

Connecticut had one segregated unit: the company of Capt. David Humphreys in the 4th Connecticut. The privates in that company were all men of color. The company never saw its commander, who was assigned as a staff officer to Washington. The men consistently refer to him as Elijah Humphreys in pension applications. Although it did see active service, it was disbanded after only a year, in 1782.

Most of the men on the Continental Line were on 3 or more year enlistments. Even if they were part of Capt. Humphreys Company during that year, they likely served with integrated companies for the rest of their time in the Army. Men who served in the militia would have served in integrated units.

Did Connecticut warn out?

If you’ve studied colonial New England genealogy, you’ve probably heard about the practice of “warning out”. “Warning out” was a practice in which the town’s selectmen would tell unwanted inhabitants they had to leave the community, usually to avoid paying for care of an individual not raised in or with deep ties to a community.

Connecticut did formally allow for warning out. “An Act for the Admission of Inhabitants in Towns, and for preventing Charge on Account of such as are not admitted therein” reads:

And if any such Stranger, or transient Personal shall, contrary to the intent of this Act, make his or her Abode within any Town in this State, every such Person shall forfeit and pay to such Treasurer Ten Shillings per Week, for every Week that he or she shall continue in such Town, after Warning given to him or her, by order of the Select-men of said Town; or upon their Request, by Warrant from Authority to depart such Town, (which Warning the Select-men are impowered to order, or give): And the said Authority, on Request as aforesaid, is impowered to issue a Warrant to the Constable, to warn such Persons to depart, as aforesaid.

Acts and laws of the state of Connecticut in America (New london: Timothy Green, 1784),102-103.

While it was permitted, warning out seems to have rarely – if ever – occurred. Far more commonly, towns would bill each other for care of their inhabitants. If a resident of one town ended up ill in another, the selectmen of the second town would pay for their care and then expect the first town to repay them. These detailed records, often recorded as bills to the town, can generally be found in town clerk’s offices and/or the state archives.