My parents, who lived in Meriden, married in Peekskill, NY because Dad was being sent out of state, and they decided that they would marry because they did not know how long he would be gone. NY allowed a Justice of the Peace wedding with a shorter time requirement than CT so the whole wedding party trooped over to NY, grandparents and all. Carol Boggs

In a message dated 1/11/02 7:25:34 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > Here are some sites that have information on the Western Reserve: Ohhhhh! Good stuff!! Thanks, Jane!!! Incidentally, if any of you have CT ancestors who removed to Summit county, Ohio, here's a great link to all the transcriptions in Locust Grove Cemetery, Twinsburg, Ohio.....it's full of former Killingworth residents..... <A HREF="http://www.jamills.com/locustgrove/index.html"> Locust Grove Cemetery</A>

I'd like to ask that the list makes an effort to bring those records "home". If, when you're researching another area, you run across a record of someone from Middlesex Co. getting married or a biography that says the family originated in Middlesex Co., or anything similar, would you take the time to post it to the list? Jane Funny that you mentioned that as I found a few things in the Berkshire County, Mass site that had some names of folks in Middletown & Middlefield and had plan to post them to this list. The following: The Journal & Argus-1831-1833, Sept. Vol. 3, No.1 Nov. 17, Middletown, CT William S. Tucker, Esq. of Lenox (Mass.) to Miss Lydia L. Newton of former place (Middletown) married November 9. Also same time and place, Mr. Giles Boardman to Miss Judith E. Newton, both of Middletown, Connecticut In 1833 issue March 14-Died, Middlefield,CT on March 2, Mrs. Phoebe, wife of Theodore Coats, age 53, and daughter of Samuel Bassett of Stockbridge. Janice

I know this will only make you feel worse, but in the 1790 CT census there were 16 John CLARKs listed. So I don't know if I'll ever solve it. I will keep your letter on file though. Suzanne ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 10:33 PM Subject: [CTMID] John Clark DOB 8/24/1824 in CT & another John Clark m Sarah Wenthrop 11/10/1774 > Hello, > > In response to: > John CLARK m. 10 Nov 1774 Sarah "WENTHROP" in Cromwell > (Middletown),Middlesex,CT. Can anyone tell me the parents' names of this > couple and/or their children's names. I'm beginning to think they dropped > from a space ship. > Suzanne Lisson > > Suzanne, > > I have been trying to find my husband's GG Grandfather, John P. Clark, DOB > 7/24/1824, POB CT. Where in CT I do not know. I am wondering if your John > Clark who was married in 1774 was my John P. Clark's Grandfather. > > John has been my brick wall for over 10 years. On his death certificate there > were no parents listed and only that he was born in CT. He died in Oswego > City, Oswego, NY. He lived in NY for a good part of his life. He married > Nancy Ann Claflin (descendant of Robert MackClothan (Claflin) ). I can fully > understand your comment about the Space Ship; I know only so well how you > feel. > > There is a slight change that the John Clark who was Christened on 29 Aug > 1824 in Haddam, Middlesex, CT whose father's name was George Clark may be my > John. (Batch 7200728, Source Call No. 0820075, Sheet 35). My John was born > 8/24/1824. Sometimes I wonder if I could find the Church where he was > Christened maybe that would help me. > > I wonder if George was your John Clark's son? If you ever find anything that > relates to the information I have written or if I find anything beyond what I > have I will write you but it seems as though I can only go back to 1824, > actually not even that date either. > > K. A. Clark > [email protected] > > > > ==== CTMIDDLE Mailing List ==== > Welcome to the Middlesex County, CT Mailing List > List Mom - Jane Devlin [email protected] > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

I just uploaded the I-J surnames from Middletown's Barbour records. Again, these are on line thanks to Coralynn Brown who has been doing all the transcribing so all I have to do is add in the HTML coding. Jane http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin/

Here's one to add to your wanderers. My grandfather, John Bell Robin, b in Chester, got married in Springfield, Mass. "Ours not to reason why". My grandmother was b in East Hartford. Maybe some day I'll have the answer.

Preston, New London Co., CT - Marriages Performed by Rev. Paul PARK Frank Palmer, Esq. New England Historical & Genealogical Register Vol 45, January 1891, p 24 - 27 [Note: Mr. Palmer put peculiarities in the records in quotation marks.] Adam STANTON "of Killingsworth" and Elizabeth TREATE of Preston, 4 Dec 1777

> Seriously, Merilyn, you seem to have a good grasp on CT. Could you, or > anyone on this list, comment on Connecticut's "Western Reserve", especially > the Ohio area that so many of my CT ancestors removed to in the very early > 1800s?? Here are some sites that have information on the Western Reserve: http://academic.csuohio.edu/clevelandhistory/Issue2/articles/earlydev.htm http://www.ultranet.com/~deeds/ohio.htm http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/products/build/regions/ctwr.html http://www.wrhs.org/ Jane http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin/

> To get a perspective of distance in New England how far can you drive in > a given time span and where do you end up. From my home, if I drive 45 > minutes straight north I am in Springfield, Massachusetts. Likewise I > commuted to New Haven, a forty five minute drive for many years of > graduate school (going part time). Danbury, CT. is about an hours drive > for me. Marilyn, thanks for putting the area in perspective. I've looked at maps, of course, but really didn't have an idea of how close together the places really were. After checking on the web, I find that Connecticut contains a little over 5500 sq. miles. The county I live in here in Michigan has almost 1/6th of that! [The entire state is just under 57,000 sq. mil or over ten times the size of Connecticut.] It takes me over 45 minutes to drive from home to Mt. Clemens, the closest town with a fairly decent genealogy room - in that time you can be in Springfield where some of my ancestors lived in the 1600s! Wow!.. I'm beginning to understand how records came to be so scattered. I'd like to ask that the list makes an effort to bring those records "home". If, when you're researching another area, you run across a record of someone from Middlesex Co. getting married or a biography that says the family originated in Middlesex Co., or anything similar, would you take the time to post it to the list? That way these scattered bits of information will wind up in the archives and when we get enough of them, I can assemble them into a file to put on the web - maybe something like "Middlesex Wanderers".. Thanks! Jane list mom http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin/

Hello, In response to: John CLARK m. 10 Nov 1774 Sarah "WENTHROP" in Cromwell (Middletown),Middlesex,CT. Can anyone tell me the parents' names of this couple and/or their children's names. I'm beginning to think they dropped from a space ship. Suzanne Lisson Suzanne, I have been trying to find my husband's GG Grandfather, John P. Clark, DOB 7/24/1824, POB CT. Where in CT I do not know. I am wondering if your John Clark who was married in 1774 was my John P. Clark's Grandfather. John has been my brick wall for over 10 years. On his death certificate there were no parents listed and only that he was born in CT. He died in Oswego City, Oswego, NY. He lived in NY for a good part of his life. He married Nancy Ann Claflin (descendant of Robert MackClothan (Claflin) ). I can fully understand your comment about the Space Ship; I know only so well how you feel. There is a slight change that the John Clark who was Christened on 29 Aug 1824 in Haddam, Middlesex, CT whose father's name was George Clark may be my John. (Batch 7200728, Source Call No. 0820075, Sheet 35). My John was born 8/24/1824. Sometimes I wonder if I could find the Church where he was Christened maybe that would help me. I wonder if George was your John Clark's son? If you ever find anything that relates to the information I have written or if I find anything beyond what I have I will write you but it seems as though I can only go back to 1824, actually not even that date either. K. A. Clark [email protected]

In a message dated 1/11/02 12:53:02 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > Connecticut is a very small state, I guess. With me, if I want to drive to the county seat of the adjacent county (Tonopah, Nye county), it's a 4 1/2 hour, - 225 mile drive. And there ain't a whole lot in between! Seriously, Merilyn, you seem to have a good grasp on CT. Could you, or anyone on this list, comment on Connecticut's "Western Reserve", especially the Ohio area that so many of my CT ancestors removed to in the very early 1800s?? Ray Downing Las Vegas, NV

I remember reading someplace that it became legal for ministers to marry people sometime in the late 1600's in Connecticut Colony. Before that only a justice of the peace could marry people. Need to get to a library to check the colonial records to find out exactly when. I think the book I need is available in a nearby public library. I came across the information at the time when I was first starting to do genealogy so the book I originally read it in has to come from one of three or four nearby libraries. I've been thinking about going back and finding the information again; this will give me a reason to do it now. At the time I was doing some research for that time period and just happened to come across the information. Will post the information and source when I find it again. I remember thinking after I learned a little more that it could help others. Unfortunately at the time I read it, I was just a beginner and didn't realize the significance of the information. Marilyn CT On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 15:45:09 -0600 "Warren Wetmore" <[email protected]> writes: > There's a question of when, exactly, weddings began to be "held." In > early > Puritan days, the bridal couple signed a marriage register and that > was > that. Marriage was considered a contract, not a sacrament, I > believe. > > Yrs aye, > > Warren Wetmore > >

Westbrook was a part of Saybrook until 1840. Maybe someone else can tell you if the Saybrook census for those years is available on-line. I've lost track of what is and is not on-line. Marilyn CT On Thu, 10 Jan 2002 17:49:15 EST [email protected] writes: > My ancestor Asa Nichols Randall b. 1769 in Ct. is my brick wall. He > was said > to have been from Southbury and also Westbrook. I would love to > have a > lookup done in the 1790 and 1800 census from Westbrook for him. I > believe > Southbury is in Litchfield County so that won't be possible for > anyone to do. > Westbrook was listed as his last known address on land records > where he > purchased land in Sandgate, Vt. in1801. Thanks so much. Dianne > > > ==== CTMIDDLE Mailing List ==== > For anyone who missed them, Robert Squire has posted images of > Middlesex County section of John Warner Barber's Connecticut > Historical Collections at > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ctimages/ > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy > records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

What a great bunch is on this list. Very helpful. May I ask if the baptism records for the 2nd Congregational Church or Cromwell Congregational Church are on-line or available in a published form? I am interested in the years after 1774. Suzanne Lisson

There's a question of when, exactly, weddings began to be "held." In early Puritan days, the bridal couple signed a marriage register and that was that. Marriage was considered a contract, not a sacrament, I believe. Yrs aye, Warren Wetmore ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 2:38 PM Subject: [CTMID] Not Marrying In your "Hometown". Or did you?: A Local Resident's Perspective | | On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 10:56:12 -0500 [email protected] writes: | > | > > | > . I'm not | > sure of | > the reasons that couples were married in places other than one of | > their home | > towns, but it did occur. | > | > Jane | | A Resident's Perspective | | Connecticut is a very small state, Even back in the 1600's and 1700's the | towns shared common borders with no empty spaces between them. It was not | unusual for people to live in one town and attend church in another town. | I also suspect the weddings were held in homes, not the church, and the | minister went to the home to conduct the service. | | Towns are also small in geographic area. I live near the center of | Newington. Today, if I travel 3 to 4 miles in any direction, I end up in | a neighboring town, Hartford, West Hartford Farmington, New Britain, | Berlin, Rocky Hill, or Wethersfield. If I go five to ten miles, I can be | in Bloomfield, Avon, Bristol, Southington, Middletown, Portland, | Glastonbury, East Hartford, South Windsor, Windsor. By the mid to late | 1700's families of the earlier settlers had spread to many towns over | the generations. The area had been first settled over one hundred years | earlier and there were many connecting roads. There are many small rivers | in Connecticut and no real high mountains. People could move from place | to place, and travel between towns fairly easily. And of course there | were business and commerce areas that drew a work force that didn't want | to send their life just working on a farm. ( In the 1700's Newington was | a part of Wethersfield.) | | To get a perspective of distance in New England how far can you drive in | a given time span and where do you end up. From my home, if I drive 45 | minutes straight north I am in Springfield, Massachusetts. Likewise I | commuted to New Haven, a forty five minute drive for many years of | graduate school (going part time). Danbury, CT. is about an hours drive | for me. New York City and Boston are both about two hours away. It's a | four hour drive for me to the Maine/ New Hampshire border. I drive four | hours southwest and I'm some place in the middle of Pennsylvania. | | This closeness is what makes research in Connecticut so difficult. There | are so many places people can be and still not be far from their | relatives. Mama can live a mile away from her married daughter and live | in another town. A mile is within walking distance. I had to walk a mile | to school everyday for most of my public school years. | | Marilyn | CT | | | ==== CTMIDDLE Mailing List ==== | For anyone who missed them, Robert Squire has posted images of | Middlesex County section of John Warner Barber's Connecticut Historical Collections at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ctimages/ | | ============================== | To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: | http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 | |

On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 10:56:12 -0500 [email protected] writes: > > > > . I'm not > sure of > the reasons that couples were married in places other than one of > their home > towns, but it did occur. > > Jane A Resident's Perspective Connecticut is a very small state, Even back in the 1600's and 1700's the towns shared common borders with no empty spaces between them. It was not unusual for people to live in one town and attend church in another town. I also suspect the weddings were held in homes, not the church, and the minister went to the home to conduct the service. Towns are also small in geographic area. I live near the center of Newington. Today, if I travel 3 to 4 miles in any direction, I end up in a neighboring town, Hartford, West Hartford Farmington, New Britain, Berlin, Rocky Hill, or Wethersfield. If I go five to ten miles, I can be in Bloomfield, Avon, Bristol, Southington, Middletown, Portland, Glastonbury, East Hartford, South Windsor, Windsor. By the mid to late 1700's families of the earlier settlers had spread to many towns over the generations. The area had been first settled over one hundred years earlier and there were many connecting roads. There are many small rivers in Connecticut and no real high mountains. People could move from place to place, and travel between towns fairly easily. And of course there were business and commerce areas that drew a work force that didn't want to send their life just working on a farm. ( In the 1700's Newington was a part of Wethersfield.) To get a perspective of distance in New England how far can you drive in a given time span and where do you end up. From my home, if I drive 45 minutes straight north I am in Springfield, Massachusetts. Likewise I commuted to New Haven, a forty five minute drive for many years of graduate school (going part time). Danbury, CT. is about an hours drive for me. New York City and Boston are both about two hours away. It's a four hour drive for me to the Maine/ New Hampshire border. I drive four hours southwest and I'm some place in the middle of Pennsylvania. This closeness is what makes research in Connecticut so difficult. There are so many places people can be and still not be far from their relatives. Mama can live a mile away from her married daughter and live in another town. A mile is within walking distance. I had to walk a mile to school everyday for most of my public school years. Marilyn CT

Chuck Arnold wrote: |>I'm not sure of the reasons that couples were married in places |>other than one of their home towns, but it did occur. |Jane: I theorize |(from examples I've seen), that, what often happened was that |folks were married in Haddam, for example, by a "circuit rider" |lets say, from Great Barrington, Berkshire Cty., MA, the records |make it appear that they were married in Massachusetts. Probably |the minister/preacher consolidated his notes when he got home to |GB and possibly "filed " them there. I don't think people were |steeped in the necessity for accuracy that we are these days. A couple of observations based on some years of work with primary records in Massachusetts and New Hampshire: (1) The Puritans who founded the Bay Colony did not accept marriage as a sacrament), and were profoundly distrustful of "episcopacy" (meaning the tendency for groups of believers to create a formally organized and hierarchical church). Ministers to them were teachers, not marryers, and marriage to them was a civil matter. For these reasons, the majority of early (17th century) marriages in Massachusetts were performed by magistrates, or J.P.s. Baptism and communion were the only Congregationalist sacraments to occur within the meeting house. Marriages most commonly took place in the bride's home. Obviously the pattern weakens with the passage of time and the decline of Puritan mores and habits. (2) Events did not always occur in the communities in which they are found recorded. Last night I was extracting Barbour listings from Cheshire, and copied 11 children of one particular family, born over a 17-year span. All are sourced to page 450 of the original town book. It's obvious that the record on page 450 is a composite. One often sees such entries where a parent has decided to make sure that their children are properly recorded -- for purposes of inheritance, for example, or perhaps in anticipation of grants or bonuses for military service. In such a case, the town book might have a listing, "Children of Luke and Susan Brooks," followed by a list of names and dates. These do not represent contemporaneous entries -- the early children may have been born in another town prior to the parents' arrival in their final community -- but rather the parents' reconstructed family history as presented to the town clerk in one installment at some later date. A variation on this practice is what I call the "honorary vital record." Colonel Amos Bigcheese's son Hezzy leaves his hometown and makes good somewhere else. Hezzy marries and has children, some or all of whom are recorded back in the ancestral hometown -- probably at the urging of the proud grandparents. I've seen cases in Massachusetts where vital records were kept up for families 20 years after they'd removed elsewhere. Church records tell us only that Amos Bigcheese was a congregant of the First Church somewhere. They don't tell us his residence. Col. Amos may have removed 10 miles away to another town, but valued the "Calvinistic preaching" or society of his former church enough to make the return trip each Sunday. One suspects that church death records, in particular, were often word of mouth affairs. I can't say with any confidence how relevant these practices may be to Connecticut research, where I'm just a beginner. But I do think they point out the fact that skilled and careful analysis is always called for, no matter how "bulletproof" the record may seem. Chris Christopher Brooks Franconia NH

In a message dated 1/11/02 12:36:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: << I would check Early Connecticut Marriages by Bailey to see if he listed marriages by Rev. Edward EELLS. >> Yes....on page 87 of the second book.....Cromwell, Middlesex Co. it says: "The town of Cromwell was incorporated as late as 1851. The Congregational Church in Cromwell was organized in 1715, being then the second church of Middletown. Records of the marriages performed by the Rev. Edward Eells, pastor of Congregational Church in Cromwell, from 1738 to 1776. Also marriages performed by Rev. Gershom Bulkley from 1776 to 1800." Dianne

> > I think that you are referring to Rev. Edward EELLS who was preacher at the > 2nd Church of Christ in Middletown. Cromwell was part of Middletown during > that time. I believe that the 2nd Church was in what is now Cromwell. I > would check Early Connecticut Marriages by Bailey to see if he listed > marriages by Rev. Edward EELLS. Harry is right - I went back to the hard copy of the Bailey records and discovered that I'd mistyped the minister's name [I did that set in an Excel spread sheet, so the name was [mis]typed once and then copied to the rest of the records.]. He was Rev. Edward EELLS. I have corrected the files and reloaded them to the site. Thanks, Harry, for pointing out the error. Jane list mom http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin/

To add to the theory that the preacher did his notes up when he got home or the couple may have wanted to be married by that particular preacher, I am wondering if anyone has an idea if Rev. Edward ELLIS married people in other places besides Cromell (Middletown) in the 1770's. Suzanne Lisson