Blog Post Helps Uncover a Hidden Resource

Thanks to Pat Burke for today's guest post!

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you

I have been a reference assistant at the Godfrey Memorial Library for almost 4 years. Working on my own genealogy I found information on Ancestry that my 4^th great grandfather had served as a recruiting sergeant in 1778. The source of this information was an excerpt from “Memoir of William Burke, a Soldier of the Revolution”. I had looked in the Genealogy shelves at the library but did not find the book there.

Recently, while working at the docent desk, I was looking at an article on the Godfrey blog titled “Connecticut Revolutionary War Resources in Godfrey's Collection”. When I clicked on the finding tool, I discovered my 4^th great grandfather’s name. I searched the Godfrey catalogue and found the book listed with a call number that indicated it should be on the shelf in Genealogies. It was not there. While Beth checked the oversized shelves, I checked the Specials Bookshelves. To my surprise and delight, there was the book!

This book was prepared from a journal he kept and was published in 1837, a year after his death. It provides a fascinating insight into life in Revolutionary War times and our family history. If not for the blog, I probably would not have found it. I had practically been sitting next to it for a couple of years.

Tuesday's Tip: World War I (First World War) Genealogy Resources at Godfrey Library

We're getting ready to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Did you have ancestors who served? Maybe it's time for you to learn more! We've been compiling a list of books and other records about the War in the library. It's not quite ready to go online, but here's a preview... Keep in mind, the list is subject to change as we verify the item's location.

To view  the list directly, click here.

Deed Microfims Help Build Your Tree

Enjoy today's guest post on the role of deeds in your research!

Use of Real Estate Deeds to Establish Family Connections

The first installment of this series discussed how the use of real estate deeds obtained through the Family History Center at the Godfrey Memorial Library can be a way to uncover spousal identity.

In this second installment, the use of real estate deeds to identify other family relationships is discussed. 

The use of wills was not overly prevalent during the 19^th century, especially in rural areas.  Many adults died relatively young and unexpectedly due to the outbreak of a particularly virulent illness.  In those intestate situations, the deceased’s land would be divided between his spouse (dower’s right) and any children.  Often times, however, some of the land had to be first sold to satisfy an estate’s debts.  Typically, the division of land either left small parcels which the heirs would then typically sell or if a division of the land could not be agreed upon, then the heirs sold their interests prior to any division of the land.

For instance, my great-great grandfather, Philip W. Smith, died intestate in 1878 in Sussex County, New Jersey.  His ten surviving children sold off the 51 acres inherited to one of their cousins.  We find a transaction in 1881 which states that six of the heirs of Philip W. Smith are each selling their one-tenth interest, for a total amount conveyed of six-tenths.  This confirms the identity of six of the children and also states which ones were married at that time, along with the name of each spouse.  These six lived in or near Sussex County.  A seventh heir executed at the same time a separate deed to sell his one-tenth interest because he was stated as living in Illinois at that time, thus providing information on his location.  The other three children were still minors in 1881 but each executed a deed later to sell their one-tenth interest upon reaching 21 years of age.  This was a very typical pattern and helps to 1) identify living children; 2) identify their locations; and 3) identify the names of spouses.  If the heir was a female and married, then the full name of her husband would be stated since women at that time could not own land separate of their spouse.

Similarly, another relative, named Lodewick Smith died intestate in early 1810 in Sussex County.  In this case, his widow decided to be the administratrix of his estate.  During the proceedings to settle the estate, an 1817 deed reveals that she has remarried since she is identified as “Mary Teeple, formerly Mary Smith….Administratrix of the estate of Lodewick Smith, deceased…”  This was further confirmed by an 1812 marriage record between Joseph Teeple and Mary Smith.  With a common name such as Smith, this type of confirming record is critical.  And similar to the first example discussed, her three children later each sold their one-third interest.  In this case, a daughter was married and her husband was fully identified.

The above two examples provide just two examples of how interesting family relationships can be found in deeds.

 

Did your ancestor serve in office in Connecticut, are you interested in Connecticut laws, or Connecticut history?

  Sometimes you need a bit of Connecticut history to help your research along... If your ancestor served in office, you'll need to know in what years and in what position they served. If you study a will or land record, you might need to know the applicable laws.

That's where the Connecticut State Register and Manual can help. Published since the early 1800s, it lists state officials, expenses for school districts and more. Versions published from 2008 to the present are available online. Looking for earlier? We have almost a complete run, beginning in 1804.

1841 edition

Tuesday's Tip: Connecticut Revolutionary War Resources in Godfrey's Collection

Want to know about your Connecticut ancestor's service in the American Revolution? Are you trying to document service for a DAR or SAR application? Godfrey's library collection might offer some help.

We're in the process of preparing a finding aid that will eventually appear on Godfrey's website... but you're getting a preview. Please let us know about any typographical or other errors.
If the finding aid does not display properly, you can view it here.

author	title	publisher	publication date	publication place	library call number	on Godfrey Scholar
Abigail Phelps Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution	Simsbury Soldiers in the War of the Revolution	The Chapter	1982	Simsbury, CT	CT 974.91 SIMSBUR APC-DAR 1982
Bates, Albert C.	Lists and Returns of Connecticut Men in the Revolution, 1775-1783	Heritage Books	1995	Bowie, MD	CONN 352 REV 1995
Bissell, F. Clarence	Daniel Bissell of Windsor: the Revolutionary Spy		1914	Hartford, CT	929.2 BISSELL 1914
Brooks, Jack R.	The Ancestors and Descendants of Silas Brooks (1760-1849) and His Wife Elizabeth Beckwith (1766-1846)	Jack R. Brooks	2004	Meriden, CT	929.2 BROOKS 2004
Burke, William	Memoir of William Burke	Case, Tiffany	1837	Hartford, CT	929.2 BURKE 1837
Burr, Nelson Rollin	From Colonial Parish to Modern Suburb: A Brief Appreciation of West Hartford		1976		CONN 974.91 W-HTFD 1976
Chatfield, Mrs. Chester H.	Families of Our Revolutionary Ancestors, Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution	The Chapter	1956	Fairfield, CT	CONN 366 DAR FAIRFIE 1956
Clark, George L	Silas Deane, a Connecticut Leader in the American Revolution	G. P. Putnam's Sons	1913	New York, NY	929.2 DEANE 1913
Clarke, Katheryn Cilley	Benedict Arnold: Patriot or Opportunist?	Lucretia Shaw Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution	2009	New London, CT	q929.2 ARNOLD 2009
Connecticut  Daughters of the American Revolution	Connecticut Revolutionary Pensioners	Clearfield Publishing Company	1997	Baltimore	CONN 352 CTDAR 1997
Connecticut Adjutant-General's Office	The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service During the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783	Genealogical Publishing Company	2003	Baltimore	CONN 352 JOHNSTON 2003
Connecticut Society Sons of the American Revolution	Unveiling of Memorial Tablet to Daniel Bissell		1919	Hartford, CT	BIOFILE 929.2 BISSELL 1919
Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution	The Connecticut Line	Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution		East Haddam, CT	CONN q366 CTSAR CT-LINE
Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution	New Haven Revolutionary Characters	Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution	1911	New Haven	CONN 974.91 NEWHAV E 1911
Connors, Daniel B	Saybrook and the American Revolution: the Saybrook Town Acts, 1774-1783	Deep River Historical Society	1976	Deep River, CT	CONN 974.91 OLDSAYE 1976
Cropsey, Joyce MacKenzie	Register of Revolutionary Soldiers and Patriots Buried in Litchfield County	Mary Floyd Tallmadge Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution	1976	Canaan, NH	CONN 974.91 LITCHFI 1976
Cummin, Katharine Hewitt.	Connecticut Militia General, Gold Selleck Silliman	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1979	Hartford, CT	929.2 SILLIMA 1976
Denison, Elverton Glen	Denison Genealogy	The Fredonia Censor	1939	Fredonia, NY	929.2 DENISON 1939
Destler, Charles McArthur	Connecticut: the Provisions State	Pequot Press	1973	Chester, CT	CONN 974.9 DESTLER 1973
Farham, Thomas J.	New Haven: The Revolutionary Generation	New Haven Bicentennial Commission	1976	New Haven, CT	CONN 974.91 NEW HAVEN 1976
Fennell, Lela Brooks	Nathaniel Brooks of Ashford, Connecticut, Revolutionary War Pensioner	Gateway Press	1989	Baltimore	929.2 BROOKS 1989
Fennelly, Catherine	Connecticut Women in the Revolutionary Era	Pequot Press	1975	Chester, CT	CONN 352 FENNELL 1975
Gerlach, Larry R	Connecticut Congressman Samuel Huntington, 1731-1796	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1976	Hartford, CT	929.2 HUNTINGT 1976
Grumman, William Edgar	The Revolutionary Soldiers of Redding, Connecticut and the Record of their Services	Hartford Press	1904	Hartford, CT	CONN 974.91 REDDING 1904
Halloway, Charlotte Molyneux	Nathan Hale: the Martyr-Hero of the Revolution	A.L. Burt	1899	New York, NY	929.2 HALE 1899
Hay, Thomas Arthur	Martin Genealogy		1911		929.2 MARTIN 1911
Hayes, John T.	Connecticut's Revolutionary Cavalary, Sheldon's Horse	Pequot Press	1975	Chester, CT	CONN 352 HAYES 1975
Hayes, John T.	Connecticut's Revolutionary Press	Pequot Press	1975	Chester, CT	CONN 352 CUTLER 1975
Ifkovic, John	Connecticut's Nationalist Revolutioanry	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1977	Hartford	929.2 TRUMBUL 1977
Jacobus, Donald Lines	Revolutionary War Records of Fairfield, Connecticut	Genealogical Publishing Company	2004	Baltimore	CONN 974.91 FAIRFIE
Johnston, Henry Phelps	Yale and Her Honor-Roll in the American Revolution, 1775-1783	G. P. Putnam's Sons	1888	New York	CONN 974.91 NEWHAV YALE 1888
Johnston, Henry Phelps	Record of Connecticut Men in the I. War of the Revolution II. War of 1812 III. Mexican War	Case, Lockwood & Brainard	1889	Hartford	CONN q352 RECORD 1889
Kuhl, Jackson	Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer	History Press	2011	Charleston, SC	CONN 974.9 KUHL 2011
Lawson, Thomas	Verbatum Copy of the List of Revolutionary War Soldiers from Union, Conn.		1903		CONN 352 LAWSON 1903
Lee, W.W.	A Catalogue of Barkhamsted Men Who Served in Various Wars 1775 to 1865	Republican Publishing	1897	Meriden, CT	CONN 974.91 BARKHAM 1897
Mather, Frederic Gregory	The Refugees of 1776 from Long Island to Connecticut	J.B. Lyon	1913	Albany, NY	CONN 929.3 MATHER 1913
Middlebrook, Louis F	Captain Gideon Olmsted, Connecticut Privateersman, Revolutionary War	Newcomb & Gauss	1933	Salem, MA	929.2 OLMSTED 1933
Middlebrook, Louis F	Salisbury Connecticut Cannon, Revolutionary War	Newcomb & Gauss	1935	Salem, MA	CONN 974.91 SALISBU 1935
Middlebrook, Louis F	Exploits of the Connecticut Ship "Defence"		1922	Hartford	929.2 SMEDLEY 1922
Middlebrook, Louis F	History of Maritime Connecticut During the American Revolution, 1775 -1783	The Essex Institute	1925	Salem, MA	CONN 352 MIDDLEB 1925 V. 2/ CONN 352 MIDDLEB 1925 V. 1
Morehouse, Cornelius Star	Ancestry and Descendants of Gershom Morehouse, Jr. of Redding, Connecticut	Tuttle, Morehouse, & Taylor	1894	New Haven	929.2 MOREHOU 1894
Mullen, Jolene Roberts	Connecticut Town Meeting Records During the American Revolution	Heritage Books	2011	Westminster, MD	CONN 974.9 MULLEN V1 2011/CONN 974.9 MULLEN V2 2011
Nafie, Joan	To the Beat of a Drum: a History of Norwich, Connecticut During the American Revolution	Old Town Press	1975	Norwich, CT	CONN 974.91 NORWICH 1795
Niven, John	Connecticut Hero Israel Putnam	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1977	Hartford, CT	929.2 PUTNAM 1977
Northup, A. Judd	The Northrop-Northrup Genealogy	Grafton Press	1908	New York, NY	SPEC 929.2 NORTHU 1908
O'Brien, Michael J.	Irish Sea-Captains of New London Who Commanded Privateers in the American Revolution	The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society	1927	New York, NY	994.1 Ireland AIHS
Pagliuco, Christopher	The Great Escape of Edward Whalley and William Goffe: Smuggled through Connecticut	History Press	2012	Charleston, SC	CONN 974.9 PAGLIUCO 2012
Phelps, Noah Amherst	History of Simsbury, Granby, and Canton, from 1642 to 1845	Simsbury Historical and Genealogical Research Library	2001	unknown	CONN 974.91 GRANBY 2001
Phelps, Richard Harvey	Newgate of Connecticut	E. Greer	1844	Hartford	CONN 974.91 GRANBY 1844
Prince, Christopher	Autobiography of a Yankee Mariner: Christopher Prince and the American Revolution	Brassey's	2002	Washington, DC	929.2 PRINCE 2002
Richards, Josephine Ellis	Honor Roll of Litchfield County Revolutionary Soldiers	Mary Floyd Tallmadge Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution	1912	Litchfield, CT	CONN 974.91 LITCHFI 1912
Rockwell, George Lounsbury	The History of Ridgefield, Connecticut		1927	Ridgefield, CT	CONN 974.91 RIDGEFI 1927
Rogers, Ernest E	Connecticut's Naval Office at New London During the War of the American Revolution		1933	New London	CONN 352 N-LONDO NAVY 1933
Root, Mary Philotheta	Chapter Sketches, Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution	Connecticut Chapters, Daughters of the American Revolution	1901	New Haven, CT	CONN 366 CTDAR SKTCHS 1901/CONN 366 CTDAR SKTCHS 1904
Roth, David Morris	From Revolution to Constitution	Pequot Press	1975	Chester, CT	CONN 974.9 HIST. v. 2 ROTH 1975
Sawers, Mary Beeler	Lineage of Jeremiah Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, Soldier of the American Revolution		1958	Middletown, CT	q929.2 MEAD 1958
Spallone, Jeanne Field	A Watch to Keep: A History of the Old Winthrop Cemetery and Biographical Sketches of Ten Revolutionary Patriots	Deep River Historical Society	1975	Deep River, CT	CONN 974.91 DEEPRIV 1976
Stuart, I.W.	Life of Captain Nathan Hale	F.A. Brown	1856	Hartford, CT	929.2 HALE 1856
Stuart, I.W.	Life of Jonathan Trumbull, Sen. Govenor of Connecticut	Crocker and Brewster	1859	Boston	929.2 TRUMBUL 1859
Sullivan, Edward Dean	Benedict Arnold: Military Racketeer	Vanguard Press	1932	New York	929.2 ARNOLD 1932
Thompson, Marvin G.	Connecticut Entrepeneur: Christopher Leffingwell	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1980	Hartford, CT	929.2 LEFFING 1979
Townshend, Charles Hervey	The British Invasion of New Haven, Connecticut		1879	New Haven	CONN 974.91 NEWHAVE 1879
Van Dusen, Albert E.	Middletown and the American Revolution	James D. Young Co	1976	Middletown, CT	CONN 974.91 MIDDLET 1976
Walsh, James P	Connecticut Industry in the Revolution	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1978	Hartford	CONN 352 WALSH 1978
Whaples, Meigs H	A Historical Sketch of Return Jonathan Meigs: A Revolutionary Hero of Connecticut	Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution			929.2 MEIGS 1917
White, David Oliver	Connecticut's Black Soldiers, 1775-1783	Pequot Press	1973	Chester, CT	CONN 352 BLACK ARMY 1973
Wicks, Edith M.	Stamford's Soldiers: Genealogical Biographies of Revolutionary War Patriots from Stamford, Connecticut	Stamford Genealogical Society	1976	Stamford, CT	CONN 974.91 STAMFOR 1976
Willauer, George J. Jr	Lyme miscellany, 1776-1976	Wesleyan University Press	1977	Middletown	CONN 974.91 LYME 1977
Willingham, William	Connecticut Revolutionary, Eliphalet Dyer	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut	1976	Hartford	929.2 DYER 1976
	Connecticut Revolutionary Pensioners	Genealogical Publishing Company	1982	Baltimore	CONN 352 CTDAR 1982
	Hartland Patriotic Celebration	H.S. Case	1930	Winsted	CONN 974.91 HARTLAN 1930
	Newsletter, New Haven Revolution Bicentennial Commission				CONN q974.91 NEWHAVE NHARBC Ne
	Revolutionary Soldier Review	Stamford Genealogical Society	1961	Stamford, CT	CONN q352 SOLDIER REVIEW 1961
	Roster of graves of or monuments to patriots of 1775-1783 in New Haven County.	Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution	1931	New Haven	CONN q974.91 N-HAVEN SAR 1931
	Waterford and Independence, 1776-1976	American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, Town of Waterford	1975	Waterford, CT	CONN 974.91 WATERFO 1975