Connecticut Secretdry of State ;"<\i'j'
Report of the Secretary
Hartford, 1889

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YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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0ttttc of moimccticiit.

RBPORT

OP THE

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Seceetart of State

STATE LIBRARIAN

TO THE

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

z^NCIENT COURT RECOILDS.

Printed by Order of the JI^egislaturu.

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HAKTFOBD, COMN.:
The Case, LockTVOOd & Braluard Compauy, Priuoer.s.
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State oi Connecticut.

REPORT

Secretary of State

AND

STATE LIBRARIAN

TO THE

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

ON

ANCIENT COURT RECORDS.

Printed by Order of the J^egislature.

HABTB'OBD, CONN.:
Tlie Case, Look-wood & Braluard Compauy, Printers.
1880. ^

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To the Honorable General Assemble/ of the State of Connecti
cut, at the January Session, 1889 :
By a resolution approved March 10, 1886, the Secretary of
State and the State Librarian were constituted a committee
" to make inquiry, or to procure the same to be made, with
regard to any ancient, colonial, or State records of any courts,
now or formerly existing ; also of any colonial or State rec
ords of any of the territorial organizations now or formerly
existing within this State, for the purpose of taking measures
for the preservation and indexing of said records ;" and the
committee was directed to make report of their doings to the
then next session of the General Assembly.
The committee was unable to accomplish the work in sea
son to report it to the General Assembly at their session in
January, 1887, and at that session a resolution was passed
(No. 276), authorizing the expenditure of the remainder of
the appropriation for the purpose after the close of the then
fiscal year.
The resolution of 1886 was passed at the instance of the
Connecticut State Bar Association. We employed Sherman
W. Adams, Esq., who has been much interested in the sub
ject, to examine the records in the offices of the clerks of
Hartford, New Haven, New London, Fairfield, and Windham
Counties, as also the records of the four original probate dis
tricts. The account of the records in the counties of Litch
field, Middlesex, and Tolland we received from the clerks of
those counties respectively.
We submit the following account of the court records of
Connecticut now existing in several repositories. We have
not reported upon the probate records, save as to those of the
four districts originally constituted, which it was necessary

these volumes are in good condition, and well indexed for
names in the court proceedings. Volumes IV, V, and VI, in
continuation of the preceding, are in the Hartford Probate
Office. COURT OP ASSISTANTS.
The Records of the Acts of the Court of Assistants in the
Colony of Connecticut, beginning May 11, 1669, and extend
ing to October 7, 1686, and of the same court from October
1, 1696, to October 3, 1701, fill 137 pages of a volume let
tered Colonial Records, New England, 1669-1701. This
court was established in October, 1665, and the records prior
to 1669 are in Book III of the County Court. The continua
tion is found in a large parchment bound book entitled : No.
2. Records Court of Assistants, Superior Court. Began
1687. Ends in 1715. It begins with the record of a special
court of assistants, February 15, 1686-7. At page 4 is this
memorandum by Caleb Stanley, Jr. : " Now in the moneth
of October, anno Dom. 1687, Sir Edmund Andross, knight,
Governor of New England, received and took upon him the
government of this his Majesties Colony of Connecticut, and
therefore there was no court of assistants holden in this
Colony in the year 1688, nor in May, anno Dom. 1689, and
the court book containing the records of the court of assist
ants holden at Hartford in October, 1689 (if any court was
then held *), can't be found." The record then goes on from
a court held May 27, 1690, to one held May 11, 1696, and
the reverse of the volume contains the records of the court of
assistants from May 7, 1702, and of its successor, the superior
Court, to November 8,1715. A large folio 423 + 36 pages.
Both these volumes are indexed^ for names.
SUPElilOR COURT.
This court was, established in 1711, and was a circuit court
with one clerk until 1798, when an act was passed directing
*That there was a session of the court of assistants October, 1689
appears from the printed Colonial llecords, IV, 35.

the judges to appoint a clerk in each county, and ordering
that the then existing records of the court be kept in the
office of the Secretary of this State, who was vested with all
the powers of clerk of said court in all matters relating to
said records. The records of the superior court were not so
well and carefully kept as those of the court of assistants had
been, but they are in a good state of preservation. They are
unpaged and not indexed, except where otherwise stated.
The following is a catalogue of the volumes :
A book not labelled. It begins with cases in Hartford
County, September, 1711, in the handwriting of Jonathan
Law, and extends to October term, 1714, at New Haven. It
also contains from the adjourned court at New Haven, Febru
ary, 1748-9, to Windham County term, June, 1749. It
seems to be waste books bound together.
No. 1. Parchment bound. From March term, 1714-15,
at Fairfield, to March term, 1718, at New Haven.
No. 2. Parchment bound. September term, 1718, Fair
field, to September term, 1721, New Haven.
No. 3. Parchment bound. September, 1721, Hartford, to
September, 1724, New Haven.
No. B^. " The records of the Superior Court in the Colony
of Connecticut in New England, beginning at the court
holden at Fairfield, March 6th, finno R. Rs. Gii. 2°, annoque
Domini, 1715-6," to May, 1724, Hartford. This is a large'r
folio, paged-and indexed, bound in parchment. It is a con
tinuation of No. 2, Court of Assistants. On the cover is
written in a modern hand : " Tliis book is a repetition of
No. 1 in part, commencing with corresponding date in that
book and extends nearly through No. 3." Lying loose in the
book is the record of a Court of Equity holden at New Lon
don, in the county of New London, on the 27th day of March,
1716, by special commission from the Gen'U Court holden at
New Haven on the second Thursday in October, 1715. — 17
written leaves.
No. 4. Parchment. September, 1724, Hartford, to Sep
tember, 1727, New Haven.

No. 4. Bis. In modern binding. August, 1724, Fair
field, to August, 1728, Fairfield. Two executions and the
will of George Clark are recorded at the end. This is a con
tinuation of No. 3|-, and a duplicate of No. 4, and parts of
No. 3 and No. 5.
No. 5. Parchment. September, 1727, Hartford, to May
1730, Hartford.
Book in paper cover. August, 1730, Fairfield, to May,
1731, Hartford. Fiffy-two leaves.
No. 6. August, 1731, Fairfield, to- August, 1736, Fairfield.
No. 7. Parchment. September, 1736, New Haven, to
August, 1741, New Haven.
No^ 8. Parchment. September, 1741, Hartford, to
August, 1745, New Haven.
No. 9. Parchment. September, 1745, Hartford, to Janu
ary, 1748-9, Windham.
No. 10. Parchment. August, 1749, Fairfield, to August,
1753, New Haven.
No. 12 [11]. September, 1753, Hartford, to March, 1756,
Hartford. An execution prefixed. Bound in rough sheep.
[No. 12.] March, 1756, Windham, to August, 1756, New
Haven. Reverse end: " On this side are entered sundry
Executions whereby Lands were taken in satisfaction."
Dates from 1747 to 1793. Bound in rough sheep.
No. 13. December, 1756, Hartford, to September, 1759,
New London. Rough sheep.
No. 14. February, 1760, Fairfield, to March, 1763, Wind
ham. Rough calf.
[No. 15.] March 1763, Norwich, to September, 1765, New
London. February, 176.6, Fairfield, 6 pp. laid in.
[No. 16.] February, 1766, New Haven, to September,
1769, Hartford. Laid in are, Fairfield, August, 1766, 10 pp.,
Fairfield, February, 1768, 15 pp., Fairfield, April, 1768, 6
pp., and other papers.
[No. 17.] September, 1769, Windham, to August, 1772,
New Haven.
[No. 18.] September, 1772, Hartford, to December, 1777,

New Haven. Lying in it are Fairfield, August, 1770, and
Fairfield, April, 1777.
[No. 19.] August, 1773, Litchfield, to March, 1782, Nor
wich. Lying in it is January, 1781, Windham.
[No. 20.] August, 1782, Litchfield, to November, 1784,
New London.
[No. 21.] December, 1784, New Haven, to March, 1786,
Norwich. [No. 22.] July, 1786, Middletown, to March, 1788,
Windham. [No. 23.] March, 1788, Norwich, to January, 1790,
Haddam. [No. 24.] January, 1790, New Haven, to March, 1791,
Tolland. [No. 25.] March, 1791, Windham, to August, 1793,
Litchfield. [No. 26.] September, 1793, Hartford, to September, 1795,
Hartford. [No. 27.] September, 1795, Windham, . to September,
1797, Windham.
[No. 28.] September, 1797, New London, to March, 1798,
Norwich. Superior Court Records, Chancery, 1774-96. Begins,
Litchfield, August, 1774, but cases are not chronologically
entered. There are 214 pages, and the book was once
indexed, but A to Q is now lost. It has been rebound within
a few years.
Superior Court Records. Executions, 1784-1798. Not
paged nor indexed.
The Files of the Superior Court are stored in the attic over
the Supreme Court room. They are voluminous enough to be
complete. They are arranged in bundles, according to the
term, are labelled, and in good order. Selections from them,
together with most of the extant files of the Court of Assist.
ants and earlier courts, have been arranged in volumes in the
State Library, lettered Crimes ^ Misdemeanors, 1663-1778,
2

10
6 vols.. Court Papers, 1700-1705, and some in the series
Private Controversies. '
SUPREME COURT.
A volume lettered Reasons of the Court of Errors contains
opinions in some cases from June term, 1803, to June
term, 1807. There are ninety written pages, and the book
is about a quarter full. One case, Pollard and Picket v. Ely,
is not reported ; the others are in Day, vols. 1 and 2.
Records of the Supreme Court of Errors, beginning on the
first Tuesday of June, 1810, and ending with June term,
1817. Thirty-six written leaves, about one-quarter of the
book, the rest being blank. It is neither paged nor indexed.
Both these books are in good order.
NEW HAVE>[ JURISDICTION.
Of the records of the New Haven Jurisdiction, the only
volume now known to be extant is in the Secretary's office,
where it was deposited in accordance with an act of the Gen
eral Assembly of Connecticut passed in 1772. It extends
from May, 1653, to the end of that government, and
it was printed in 1858. It is probable that the earlier vol
ume of these records, 1644-1653, was lost or destroyed
before 1698.

COURTS IN THE TIME OF SIR EI)MUi\D ANDROS.

The records of the Superior Court of Judicature held at
New Haven, for the counties of New Haven and Fairfield, and
at Hartford for the counties of Hartford and New London,
with the county of Hampshire in Massachusetts, are not in
any of our record repositories, nor do we know that they
exist. Sessions were to be held in both places twice in each
year, and we are informed that the first was held at New
Haven April 10, 1688, and at Hartford on the 13th of the
same month, and in September following they were likewise
held in either place.
The Records of the Court of Sessions and of the Inferior
Court of Common Pleas for Hartford County are in the pos
session of Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull. They are in a thin
book of 27 leaves about llf by 7i inches in size, and without
covers. The book begins with the Court of Sessions held at
Hartford March, 16'87-8, at which Lt.-Col. Talcott, Humphrey
Davie, Samuel Wyllys, Gershom Bulkeley, Benja. Newberry,
John Wadsworth, Samuel Talcott, Giles Hamlin, and John
Chester, Justices, were present. On the 8th of the same
month a session of the Inferior Court of Pleas was held, at
which were present John AUyn, Esq , Judge, Lt.-Col. John
Talcott, Sam. Wyllys, Gershom Bulkeley, Benj. Newberry,
John Wadsworth, Sam. Talcott, Giles Hamlin, and John
Chester, Esqrs. Other sessions were held as follows : Court
of Sessions, June 5 and 19, September 4, 11, and 18, October
2 and 30, December 4 and 27, 1688'. Inferior Court, April 3,
May 25, June 7 and 19, October 30, December 6 and 27, 1688,
January 22, February 1 and 5, March 5 and 7, 1689. In
this inferior court the estates of a number of decedents were
settled, wholly or in part; some wills and inventories are

12
recorded ; officers, such as packers, gangers, etc., were ap
pointed, and ferrymen and taverners licensed.
The Records for the General Quarter Sessions for the
County of New Haven were a few years since pasted into the
record book of the county court at the place of the coitcs-
ponding year. It began on the first Tuesday in March, 1687
-8, and ended on the first Tuesday of March, 1688-9. There
were five sessions : at the first and last no business was
recorded.

HARTFORD COUNTY.

RECORDS IN THE PROBATE COURT OP THE DISTRICT OP
HARTFORD.
The first book of wills and inventories of the Colony was
printed in 1850, forming a part of the Colonial Records of
Connecticut, 1636-1665, and it has already been mentioned
that volumes II and III of the particular court and Hartford
county court, which contain records of wills and inventories,
1650-1677, are in the Secretary's office at the capitol.
The proliate court was not separated from the county court
until 1698, but it was found convenient that those volumes of
the county court records which contained wills, etc., and
probate proceedings should be kept in the probate office
rather than in tlie office of the county clerk. When the
probate courts were established the districts were made coter
minous with the four counties then existing", and the county
lines continued to be the boundary lines of the districts for
a number of years. The establishment of Windham district
in May, 1719, took the towns of Windham and Mansfield from
Hartford district. Woodbury district, in October of the
same year took away the towns of Litchfield and Waterbury.
East Haddam district in October 1741 took off the towns of
East Haddam, Haddam, Colchester, and Hebron, with the
parish of Middle Haddam. The district of Litchfield in Octo
ber, 1742, of Middletown in May, 1752, of Stafford in May,
1759, Farmington in January, 1769, Simsbury in May of the
same year, further diminished the size of the Hartford dis
trict, and the process of division has been continued until that
district now embraces but eight towns, while the four districts
into which the colony was divided in 1666 have been multi-

14
plied twenty-eight fold, — numbering one hundred and twelve
in this year 1888.
The County Court Records in the Hartford Probate office
are :
Vol. IV. From February, 1677-8, to October, 1687, when
the government was interrupted by Sir Edmund Andros: 135
pages, then 24 pages mostly filled with probate proceedings in
1697, which by " mistake " had been omitted from Book No.
V. Reversing the volume are wills and inventories from
March, 1677-8, to September, 1687, 264 pages. Pages 265
and 266 contain records which had been omitted elsewhere.
Vol. V. Records of court doings from May, 1689, to Sep
tember, 1697, 135 pages. In the reverse, wills and inven
tories October, 1689, to November, 1696, fill 230 pages.
Vol. VI. Court proceedings November, 1697, to December,
1706, 311 pages. It has been mentioned that some of the
records of 1697 are to be found in Vol. IV. Then pages
312-315 contain miscellaneous matter to 1711. Reverse :
wills and inventories March, 1696-7, to January, 1700-1,
with two pages of entries of date 1715.
These volumes are in , good condition and indexed for
names. Vol. VII. This is the first volume > which consists of
probate records only, separated from the records of the
county court. It begins with court doings September, 1700,
to December, 1709, 137 pages, and at the other end wills and
inventories September, 1700, to March, 1709.
From this time onward the records are complete. Up to
vol. 55, 1854, the court acts are recorded in one end of the
book, and the wills, inventories, distributions, etc., in the
other end, each with its own pagination. There is no Gen
eral Index, but each volume has its own index for probate
matters only.
The files of wills, inventories, etc., recorded in Books I, II,
III, which, as has been told, are in the Secretary's office, may
be found here, and they are tolerably complete : the earliest is
of the date 1640. They have lately been arranged in such
manner as to render them conveniently accessible.

RECORDS IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK
FOR HARTFORD COUNTY.

COUNTY COURT RECORDS.
The oldest volume of records at the clerk's office in the
court-house is a parchment-bound book labelled Book G, No.
7. On the inside of the cover is written, " This is the Sev
enth Book of the Records of the Acts of the County Courts
in the County of Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut in
New England." It is the first volume in which the acts of
the county courts are recorded apart from those of the pro
bate court. It is not an original. On a waste leaf is written
"This Book of the County Court Records, written in the
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fourty by
Benja. Dod." It contains records of the Inferior Court of
Pleas or County Court, from March 4, 1706-7, to November,
1717, 536 pages, with 4 unnumbered, and in the reverse about
43 leaves of executions.
A volume which was probably Vol. VIII, April, 1718, to
June, 1719, is here missing. It was sold in New York,
March, 1879, as part of the Brinley Library, and is now in
the Watkinson Library, Hartford. With it was the Record
of the Court for the Trial of Small Causes, June, 1727, to
May, 1731, and of Chancery Cases, May to August, 1736,
growing out of the repeal of the charter of the New London
Society united for Trade and Commerce.
Book H. This volume, which would be the ninth, is
parchment bound, unpaged, but has about 150 leaves, — some
are gone from the back part. It covers the period from
November, 1719, to March, 1721-2.'
Book I. Parchment bound, containing 500 or 600 unnum-

16
bered pages, covering from April, 1722, to November, 1725.
A few executions are entered in the front and back parts of
the volume.
Book J. Parchment cover. Has about 500 unnumbered
pages. The first 11 leaves contain executions ; then come
Court Records, February, 1725-6, to November, 1727. In
some terms the cases are numbered, and in some the record
of the term is preceded by an Alphabet. In the reverse are
9 leaves of executions, etc.
Book L. Parchment bound. Has from 400 to 500 un
numbered pages. From February, 1727-8, to November,
1729. (The fly-leaf incorrectly says to November, 1731.)
Reverse, 4 leaves of executions.
Book K. Parchment. About 150 unpaged leaves, Febru
ary, 1729-30, to February, 1730-1. Reverse, 2 leaves of
executions. Paper book of about 50 unpaged leaves, April to August,
1731. Book M. Parchment. About 300 unpaged leaves, May,
1731, to April, 1735.
Book N. Parchment. 250 to 300 unpaged leaves, June,
1735, to November, 1737.
Book 0, though the label is lost from the back. Parch
ment. From 250 to 300 unpaged leaves, January, 1737-8,
to January, 1739-40. Reverse, 22 leaves for June, 1738.
Book P. About 350 unpaged leaves, April, 1740, to June,
1742. Book Q. About 250 unpaged leaves, April, 1742, to Nov
ember, 1744.
Book R. About 250 leaves, January, 1744-5, to June
1747, and about 40 loose leaves, November, 1747, to June
1748. Book S. About 350 leaves, November, 1748, to January
1754. Reverse, 5 leaves of executions.
Book T. About 300 leaves, April, 1754, to June 1759.
The record for April-June, 1769, is on loose leaves laid in.
Reverse, 7 leaves of executions.

17
Book V. About 300 leaves, November, 1759, to January,
1763, filling about two-thirds of the volume. Reverse, about
one-third of the volume contains executions.
Here occurs a break in the records from 1763 to 1771.
Probably two volumes are missing.
Book U. About 200 leaves, June, 1771, to January, 1773.
Reverse, 10 leaves of executions.
Book W. About 300 leaves, of which perhaps two-thirds
have been used, April, 1773, to November, 1774.
Hei-e occurs a large break. Several volumes, three or four
at least, covering the period from 1774 to 1798, cannot be
found. How long they have been missing is unknown.
Court Records of Trials, from November, 1798, to March,
1803. Reverse, 4 leaves, as to Prison limits. Turnpikes,
Highways, etc.
Court' Records (civil) August, 1803, to December, 1809.
Reverse, 10 leaves of Appointments of Deputy Sheriffs, Crim
inal Trials, etc., to 1811. A thick volume.
Court Records. Perhaps 300 leaves, March, 1810, to
March, 1819. Reverse, 5 leaves. Sheriff's Deputies, etc.
Court Records. A thick volume, August, 1819, to March,
1828. Reverse, 17 leaves, conservators and miscellaneous
matters. Court Records. A thick volume, August, 1828, to August,
1834. Reverse, 18 leaves. Appointments, Special Trials, etc.,
1829-34. Hitherto all the volumes are, unpaged and unindexed.
The letters G, H, etc., have been put on them in modern
times, and not always with due regard to their proper
sequence. Court Records. A thick volume of 506 pages, March,
1835, to August, 1839. Reverse, 45 pages of Appointments
and miscellaneous matter. This is the first volume of the
series in this office which is paged and has indexes, but the
volume, like sundry of its predecessors and successors, is not
numbered. 3

18
Court Records. 660 pages, November, 1839, to November,
1844. Reverse, 31 pages of miscellaneous matter. Indexed.
Court Records. 634 pages, November, 1844, to August,
1850. Reverse, 28 pages " Sheriff's Records," and miscella
neous. Not indexed.
Court Records. 368 pages, November, 1860, to March,
1854. Another series whereof the volumes are not numbered is
composed of waste books which have been bound up in recent
times and labelled Court Docket and Record. Each volume
is made up of several of these waste books, some of which
are but remnants of their former selves. In some respects
they are more important than the regular records, since they
record such judgments as were paid or satisfied and such as
were appealed from, not recorded in the latter. They also
contain appointments, etc. They measurably fill lacunae in
the regular series of records.
^ November, 1754, to January, 1760.
* April, 1760, to November, 1764.
April, 1763, to January, 1767, of a larger size, not con
secutive years.
January, 1765, to November, 1768. On the front waste
leaf of the last book is drawn a map of Hartford county.
January, 1769, to November, 1770, little and big.
January, 1771, to November, 1772.
January, 1773, to November, 1774.
January, 1775, to April, 1777.
November, 1777, to November, 1781.
February, 1782, to November, 1783.
February, 1784, to November, 1785.
January, 1786, to November, 1787.
February, 1788, to November, 1789,
January, 1790, to November, 1791.
January, 1792, to November, 1794.
January, 1796, to November, 1796. This volume also con
tains 6 leaves of Appointments, about 100 pages of Defaults
March, 1796 — March, 1797; Taverner's Licenses about 40
leaves, 1796—1799.

19
January, 1797, to March, 1798.
Some of the waste books bound up in this series have their
dockets. Dockets. These have been bound, six or eight to a volume.
They contain names of attorneys, the number of the case,
names of parties to suits, and a space for minutes by the
clerk. There are 18 volumes, not numbered, covering from
1799 to 1856.
Defaults. Prior to 1775 judgments by default may have
been entered in the same volumes with other judgments.
The volumes of this series are not numbered. They are
neither paged nor indexed.
January, 1775 — February, 1782. A thick volume, with
four cases per printed page.
February, 1782, to November, 1783.
February, 1784, to Noveniber, 1785.
November, 1785, to November, 1786. About one-third of
the book used.
No volumes from 1786 to 1797 of this series are found.
November, 1797, to February, 1798. There are also about
166 executions on 39 pages.
March, 1798, to November, 1801.
November, 1801, to December, 1804.
December, 1804, to March, 1808.
March, 1808, to March, 1810.
December, 1809, to December, 1811. And nine volumes
more, bringing them down to March, 1856.
Executions. There, are nine volumes uniformly bound, all
purporting fo be recorded by George Wyllys, clerk (who died
in 1796). They were all apparently written at the same
time in the same printed form. The volumes are not num
bered nor given particular titles. The printed portion is on
every 6th page, leaving 3 pages blank for writing out the
return. It would seem that the volumes were filled up from
old files not chronologically arranged. The volumes are
without paging or index. The following are the proximate
dates covered by each : 1737-98; 1743-9.8; 1744-98; 1747-
58; 1748-98; 1763-98; 1763-98; 1763-87.

20
There are 7 more volumes of executions, 1798 — 1820.
Two of them, 1798—1807, are partially indexed: the others
are not indexed.
Judgments. One volume, December, 1809 — March, 1820,
two cases per printed page. Not paged nor indexed.
Appointments of Auditors to hear Cases pending in Court.
One volume March, 1804 — August, 1841. Not paged nor
indexed. Criminal Costs. There are three unnumbered volumes so
lettered. They are records of costs taxed in criminal cases
both in the Superior and County Courts. They cover the
period 1843-65, and are neither paged nor indexed.
Appeals. There are 4 unnumbered volumes, 1798 — 1855,
neither paged nor indexed.
Taverners Licensed. Tliose from 1796-99 are to be found
in the volume of i Court Docket and Record, 1795-6, before
mentioned. There are two volumes not paged uor indexed,
7 licenses recorded per printed page, extending from March,
1808, to September, 1860. After 1855, these licenses were
granted by the Superior Court.
Naturalization Records. There are 4 volumes of these,
1834-1855, and 1 volume of Declarations of Intention,
1853-5. Neither are paged nor indexed.
Pensioners of the Revolutionary War. There are 2 vol
umes : one containing the statements by 194 pensioners
required by an act of Congress of May 1, 1820, all made in
that year ; the other containing 80 statements, 1820-32.
Both these were indexed by the late N. H. Morgan.
Files of the Hartford County Court. The bulk of these are
said to be contained in five large trunks in an upper room of
the county building: some are mingled with eaiTy files of
the Superior Court in the record room of that court. They
are not labelled nor in good order.
SUPERIOR COURT, HARTPORD COUNTY.
As has been already mentioned, the records of the Supe
rior Court from its establishment in 1711 to 1798, for all the
counties, are to be found at the Capitol. The records in the

21
clerk's office are, as is believed, complete from 1798, and con
sist of —
Records of trials, from September, 1798, in 29 vols.
Defaults, 3 vols., 1841 
Executions, 2 vols., 1799-1820.
Insolvency cases, 1 vol., 1829-1841.
Divorces, 4 vols., 1864 
Naturalizations, 2 vols., 1838

Declarations of intended Citizenship, 2 vols., 1856 
Naturalization Dockets, 4 vols., 1868 
Criminal Costs, 8 vols.
Notaries Public commissioned, 8 vols., 1871 
Liquor Licenses, 2 vols.
Sheriff's Deputies. A record of their appointment begin
ning 1854.
Manuscript Dockets. There are 40 or more bound volumes
and some unbound. The earliest now found begins 1805.
These confain memoranda of official orders, etc., not else
where found, except such as are on the back of files.
General Index. Since 1873 a general index (Burr's) has
been kept, in which all names of parties to suits, etc., have
been, entered.
Files. About 350 bundles are contained in file cases to
which there are marks of indication affixed ; some 300 more
bundles are labelled. SUPREME COURT OP ERRORS.
By an act of the General Assembly passed in May, 1819, it
was provided that the Supreme Court should be held once a
year, in each county of the State. It had previously been
held alternately at Hartford and New Haven. The first ses
sion under the new arrangement was held at Hartford in
June, 1820.
There are two volumes : one June, 1820, to September,
1864, contains, besides cases in error and the judgments and
orders of the court thereon, appointments, allotments of
judges, rules of court, etc. The record is fuller than that

22
now kept. It is not indexed. The other, beginning Febru
ary, 1864, is the current volume. .
Manuscript Docket of the First Judicial District. This
begins in January, 1879.
The first judicial district was constituted at the May session,
1866, and consisted of the counties of Hartford and Tolland.
Middlesex County was annexed in 1874, Windham County in
1879, and Litchfield County in 1881.

NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

TOWN clerk's OPPICE.
The record of the courts of the Plantation of New Haven,
commencing with 1639, the record of a few sessions of the
General Court and Court of Magistrates for the Jurisdiction
of New Haven, 1643-4, and the record of New Haven Town
Ccn-ts to November, 1649, are contained in a large folio,
which -was printed in 1867.
The continuation of this volume, from February, 1649-60,
to July, 1662, is in a smaller folio of 378 pages -|-, of which
a transcript made by Mr. Dexter is in the State Library at
Hartford. Tjown Records, 1662-78, is a further continuation. The
latest recorded town court is Feb. 12, 1671-2, when a person
was fined for selling cider to an Indian.
What were called in the Connecticut Colony town meet
ings were called general courts in the towns which composed
the New Haven Jurisdiction. Copies of the early records of
Guilford, Stamford, and Greenwich, which belonged to that
government, are in the State Library.
PROBATE OFFICE.
Volume First, in two parts : Part I, wills, inventories,
etc., 1647-1687 ; part II, wills, inventories, etc., 1666-1687.
In good condition, newly bound with the old covers pre
served, and with a cotemporary index.
Volume Second. Newly bound over the old parchment
covers. There were 339 pages, but the first 19 are lost. It
contains wills, inventories, and court orders, 1688-1703.
From 1703 the records are supposed to be complete. They
are more voluminous than those in the Hartford probate

24
office, because kept in fuller form. They have been indexed
in 6 manuscript volumes, covering vols. 1-182 of the records,
and the period 1647-1883. The following are headings to
the index : Name, Residence, Date, Vol., Page, Remarks-
The date is that at which the matter was received in court.
Under "remarks" is stated whether the estate was testate or
intestate, whether the party was a minor or incompetent per
son, etc.
. In the New Haven Jurisdiction, which comprised the towns
of New Haven, Milford, Guilfordj Branford, and Stamford, it
was provided by law that wills and inventories should be
entered at length in the plantation (or town) records, and
then the originals delivei-ed to the secretary of the jurisdic
tion, who should keep them on file and enter only a brief
abstract of them on the-jurisdiction records. A considerable
number of wills, etc., are found on the Stamford town records
between 1646 aiid 1695 ; the latter date, it will be observed,
being some thirty years after the extinction of the New
Haven government. It is understood that no wills are re
corded in the other towns, though there are early probate
proceedings in Guilford records.
COUNTY clerk's OFFICE.
Vol. I. Parchment bound, pages 280 and a separate index-
It covers the years 1666-98. Between pages 168 and 169
four leaves are inserted containing " The Records of the Gen
eral Quarter Sessions for the County of Newhaven. Began
in March, 1687-8."
Vol. II. Parchment. 1699-1713. Portions of this vol
ume have been corroded by the ink, but it has been copied so
far as it could be, and the copy kept with the original.
Vol. III. Parchment. 1713-1738.
Vol. IV. Rebound. 1739-1757.
Vol. V. 1766-1764. All after p. 590 is record of
executions. Vol. VI. 1764-1767. All after p. .242 is record of
executions.

25
Vol. VIl. 1767-1773, but lettered 1767-1776.
Vol. VIII. 1774-1783, but lettered 1776-1783.
Vols. IX-XXVII. 1783-1855. The printed records begin
with Vol. XVII. All the volumes of the New Haven County
Courts are indexed.
, Equity Records covers the period 1773-1821 in this court-
Some Files are preserved of date as early as 1700.
SUPERIOR COURT, NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Volumes I-XLV, 1798 to the present time. ,
Manuscript Dockets begin in 1798. — 33 vols.
Criminal Records are in a separate series in 4 vols., begin
ning in 1837.
Naturalization Records are in 5 vols.
Declarations of Intention in 3 vols.
lAqaor lAcenses in 9 vols.
A General Index was begun in 1860.
Index of Cases in the Superior Court, 1860 to the present
time, in 2 vols. In this index the name of each party to a
suit is mentioned twice. All orders and appointments are
indexed, and all suits excepting Divorces.
SUPREME COURT OF ERRORS.
The records are complete from July, 1820, in 6 vols.
FILES.
The Files of the County Court from about 1700 to 1857,
and those of the Superior Court from 1798, appear to be full
and in good order. IN GENERAL.
The court records of New Haven County have been well
kept, and are in better condition than those of either of the
other original counties.

NEW LONDON COUNTY.

The doings of a Session of Magistrates at Pequett, April
25, 1651, of a Particular Court, March 24, 1653-4, of a Court
of Magistrates, June 13, 1656, both held at the same place,
are recorded in the second book of the records of the Partic
ular Court now in the Secretary's office. In May, 1660, and
again in October, 1661, provision was made by the General
Assembly for holding a Court at New London. . The County
Court for New London County was established in May, 1666.
The records are now kept at Norwich.
COUNTY COURT.
The first volume is an unbound book of fifty-eight leaves,
eleven by seven inches in size. Before June, 1667, the hand
writing is mostly that of Obadiah Bruen ; after June, 1667,
mostly in that of Daniel Wetherell; there are, however,
portions which were written by Secretaries John AUyn and
Daniel Clark. The earliest entry in the book is February,
1661-2. There are 11 pages of memoranda of writs, etc.
The first session of a court recorded is Dec. 31, 1663, and
the last is of a county court, Sept. 19, 1667. At the end are
nine pages of miscellaneous records, such as the entry of
horses shipped from the port of New London from September,
1661, and some marriages. A transcript of this volume is
in the State Library at Hartford.
The second volume is without covers. Some of the leaves
at either end are missing, and those remaining much frayed.
It begins September (?), 1668, and ends in June, 1669. It
contains records of trials, probate orders, inventories and
some marriages.
Volume III has ;io covers, and leaves are wanting at either

27
end, and those remaining are frayed. The earliest entry is
June (?), 1670, and the latest June 7, 1681. It includes
probate orders and inventories. Some entries are in
short-hand. Volume IV has a thin paper cover. Some loose leaves
from some other volume or volumes are laid in. It begins
with Sept. 20, 1681, and ends with a session (at Stonington)
of Jan. 22, 1683-4.
Volume V is tied up with the preceding. It begins with
June 3, 1684, and ends with Feb. 22, 1686-7.
Volume VI has no covers, and some early leaves are miss
ing. The earliest entry seems to be of June 7, 1687, and
the latest of those chronologically arranged is Oct. 27, 1687,
but there are irregular entries so late as April 8, 1701.
Volume VII has parchment covers. It is entitled Probate
and County Court Records, and like all the preceding vol
umes has probate orders, etc. The earliest entry is June 4,
1689, and the last, June, 1703. The records of the courts in
this county during the Andros government do not seem to
exist. At the end of the volume are recorded a few
executions. From 1703 to 1711, the records are missing.
Volume VIII (if it may properly be so designated) is in
brown-paper covers, and consists of some half-dozen waste
books now tied together. It seems to cover the whole period
from June 5, 1711, to Sept. 23, 1715. Like all preceding
volumes, it is unpaged and unindexed.
Volume IX is bound and indexed, and apparently a copy
of the preceding down to Nov. 23, 1714, p. 106.
Volume X, Aug. 9, 1715, to Nov. 27, 1716, is in paper
covers. There is laid in a Docket of Cases, which are
numbered. Volume XI, Feb. 19, 1716-7, to Mar. 11, 1717-8. In
paper covers.
Volume XII, June 3, 1718, to Nov. 24, 1719. In paper
covers. There is a Docket for part of the volume.
Volume Xni, Feb. 23, 1719-20, to Nov. 22, 1720. In

28
paper covers. It has Dockets of Cases, as do the succeeding
volumes. Volume XIV, Feb. 7, 1720-1, to Nov. 26, 1723. In
boards. Volume XV, Feb. 26, 1723-4, to June 18, 1725. In
parchment. Volumes XVI-XXVI, Nov. 23, 1725, to Nov. 22, 1768.
In boards. -
For the period between November, 1768, to November,
1784, the records seem to be lost. They are complete from
November, 1784, to June, 1855, when the court ceased
to exist.
There is an Index from June, 1847, to June, 1856.
There are six volumes of Defaults, 1809-1856.
There are four volumes of Executions, 1790-1820,
indexed. From 1835 to 1856, the manuscript dockets are bound in
five volumes.
A pile of about 300 leaves, burnt at the top, bottom, and'
edges of both sides, contains records of Judgments, 1817-
1832. It is wrapped in a paper and curiously had heen sup
posed to be the remains of a volume saved from the confla
gration at New London in 1781.
There are three volumes of Appeals from the County
Court, 1809-56. Not indexed.
There is one volume of Naturalization Records, which is
indexed. The Files appear to be pretty complete from 1701.
SUPERIOR COURT, NEW LONDON COUNTY.
The court records are complete from 1798, when the court
for the first time had a clerk in each county, to the present
time, and they are contained in 15 volumes. Before 1856
the volumes are not indexed, but they generally have dockets
of cases.
From August, 1866, the criminal records are kept in a

29
separate series of volumes, of which there are now three, all
indexed. From August, 1867, Divorces have been recorded in sepa
rate volumes, of which there are now four, all indexed.
There is one volume of Insolvency Cases, March, 1833, to
September, 1841, not indexed.
There are two volumes of Defaults, 1863-61, indexed.
Beginning in 1836, the manuscript dockets have been kept
in separate volumes, 22 in number.
Declaration of Intended Citizenship are in three volumes,
indexed. Records 'of Naturalization are in three volumes, indexed.
The Files are preserved since 1798.
SUPREME COURT, NEW LONDON COUNTY.
The Records of the Supreme Court when held in this
county are in two volumes. Vol. I, October, 1819 — October,
1864, not indexed. Vol. II is the current volume and is
indexed. In 1866, Windham County was united with New London
County to form the Second Judicial District. In 1881,
Windham County was detached and annexed to the First
Judicial District. PROBATE COURT AT NEW LONDON.
Proceedings relative to the settlement of estates before
1698, when the probate courts were erected, are to be sought
for in the records of the New London County Court, estab
lished in 1666 ; and before that date either in the special
courts held at New London or in the Particular Court at
Hartford. In 1698, the county of New London embraced the towns of
New London, Killingworth^ Lyme, Norwich, Preston, Say-
brook, and, Stonington. Colchester was in this district from
1699 to 1708, when it was transferred to Hartford County ;
Lebanon was in the district from 1700 to- October, 1719,
when it was made a member of Windham district which was
the first district established not coterminous with a county ;

30
Plainfield and Canterbury were in New London County until
1719; Voluntown was within New London County from 1719
to'1726, when it was included in Windham County ; Killing-
worth and Saybrook were detached ftom the district in 1719
and made part of the new district of Guilford. The district
of Norwich, embracing that town and Preston, was erected
in October, 1748, and the new district of Stonington, em
bracing that town with Groton, in October, 1766. These are
all the changes of boundaries of probate districts in New
London County before 1776.
In the probate office at New London is a manuscript vol
ume, entitled : "Alphabetical Index of Probate Piles remain
ing from 1763 to 1777, inclusive. See memo, within. The
Journals remain from, the beginning to April 22, 1763."
The memorandum inside is as follows : " Alphabetical Index
of Papers remaining of Probate Files from the year 1763 to
1777, inclusive; the figures referring to tlie years, tlie papers
of each year being filed together. W, Wills ; I, Inventory ;
Div. and Dis., Division or Distribution of Estates ; Com. Rep.'
Report of Commissioners on Insolvent Estates ; Ad. Ac. and
Ex. Ac. Administrator's and Executor's Accounts; Reps.,
Receipts. — On the 6th of September, 1781, were burnt, the
Record of Wills, etc., from the beginning ; Files since the year
1777 ; and Journals from April, 1763 ; so that there are re
maining (before 6 September, 1781,) the Jou'rnals from the
first to the 22d of April, 1763, and Files from the beginning
to the year 1777 inclusive, (unless some scattering ones may
be missing;) and in general maybe found in the bundle
marked with the year in which business to which they relate
was transacted. Certif. New London, Jan. 28, 1788.
pr. JOSHUA COIT, Clk. Co. Prob. D. N. L."
The Journals begin with May 29, 1700, extend to April
22, 1763, — 6 vols., then begin again Sept. 14, 1781.
The Record Books, so called, contain the record of wills
inventories, etc., beginning with No. 1, which commences
with Oct. 9, 1782, all those preceding having been destroyed.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY.

There was a court held at Fairfield for the trial of small
causes from 1639 or 1640, and there are sundry references to
courts held there before the division of j;he colony into coun
ties in 1666. PROBATE OFFICE, FAIRFIELD.
Volume I. On the cover of this book is the label " Probate
Records, 1648-66," pp. 94, with index. The top of the book
is much injured by corrosion of ink : from one to four inches
of the length of many leaves being gone. A memorandum
by Andrew Rowland, who was appointed clerk in 1764, says
that this damage was done " three or four years before the
records came to me as clerk ; viz., while Dav'd Rowland,
Esq., was clerk, and Col. Burr judge." The oldest inventory
in the book is dated June, 1648, but the first entry in order
of paging is dated August, 1664, and tliere are records so
late as March, 1662-3. Some Fairfield County wills were
probated at Hartford before 1666. Mention has already been
made that there are a number of early wills and inventories,
1646-1696, recoirded in Stamford town records.
" The second Book of Records, begun June 28th day, A.D.
1665/' 85 pages, with 5 pages of receipts, etc., in the back
of the volume, and an index made about a century ago.
The third volume, 1675-1690, has 308 pages. At the end
are 44 pages of reversed leaves.
The next volume, not numbered, 1689-1701. This and
the two preceding volumes contain so much of the Fairfield
County court records as has reference to the settlement of
estates.

32
FAIRFIELD COUNTY COURT RECORDS.
These are kept at Bridgeport. The volumes are not num
bered nor indexed. The oldest now found is from March
1702-3 to 1741.
Two volumes of 144 and 185 old leaves, respectively, and
of the periods 1703-1719 and 1720-23, are made up by
mounting original leaves upon new paper.
Volume, parchment bound, 1741-50,
Volume, parchment, 1748-9 to 1760-1.
Volume, boards, April, 1751, to May, 1752.
Volume, parchment, 1752-55.
Volume, old leather, 1766-57.
Seven volumes contain the records from 1758 to 1783.
A book of five leaves contains Libels in Admiralty,
1779-80. •
A book of which only 48 leaves were used, 1787-8.
One of which only 19 leaves were used, 1795.
Ten volumes, 1800-55. Most of the foregoing are un
indexed. There are six unnumbered volumes of Executions, 1785-
1820. Four of them are indexed.
There is one volume of Appeals, 1826-52, not indexed.
One volume contains county court records, 1861-5, 208
pp., -and miscellaneous records (county commissioners) to
1887, pp. 209-52. FAIRFIELD COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT.
These are kept at Bridgeport, and there are 19 unnum
bered volumes, and generally unindexed, from 1798 to the
present time.
One volume of Executions, 1778-1820, partially indexed.
Six volumes of Divorces, 1866-87.
Three volumes of Defaults, 1841-87.
Eight volumes of Naturalization records, 1842-87.
One volume. Foreclosures of Mortgages, 1885-87.
Four volumes of Criminal Records, 1864-87.

33
Twenty-two volumes of MS. Dockets (Civil), 1840-87.
Four volumes of MS. Dockets (Criminal), 1869-87.
Two volumes of Appointments of Attorneys, etc., 1861-87.
Eight volumes of Criminal Costs, 1855-87.
SUPREME COURT OF ERRORS, FAIRFIELD COUNTY.
These are also at Bridgeport.
The first volume begins in June, 1820, and ends in Octo
ber, 1859.
A second volume was begun in 1879.

WINDHAM COUNTY.

The' court records of this county have been ruined by hav
ing been kept in a damp vault. The covers of some volumes
have rotted off, the paper is decayed and mouldy, and the
writing in many places illegible.
WINDHAM COUNTY COURT RECORDS.
These are now kept in two large iron safes in the court
house in Brooklyn. Most of them are not indexed,
Volume I begins in June, 1726, and ends in February,
1732. In bad order.
Volumes II and III are missing.
Volume IV. Parchment bound. February, 1739-40, to
March, 1741. A rotten mass.
Volume V. December, 1741, to 1744. Very tender, but
generally legible.
There are twenty-nine more volumes of county court rec
ords covering the period from 1744 to 1855, a few of which
are in good condition, but most of them are more or less
mouldy and decayed. SUPERIOR COURT, WINDHAM COUNTY.
Volume I. September, 1798, to January, 1811.
Volume [II.] September, 1811, to September, 1823.
Cover off ; in pieces ; leaves frayed ; ruinously mouldy.
Volume [III.] January, 1824, to January, 1835, in about
the same condition.
Volume [IV.] October, 183.5, to January, 1844. Mouldy.
The other volumes of this series are in good condition.
Executions, 1800-18. Cover off ; leaves loose and mouldy.
Insolvent Debtors, one volume, 1828-41. Cover off;
mouldy.

Defaults, October, 1839-1872, good.
Manuscript Dockets, nine volumes, in good condition.
Since 1876, Civil Causes have been indexed in a Burr Index.
The Court Files at Brooklyn are in a wretched condition,
from the dampness of the place where they were kept in part,
and partly apparently from the ravages of vermin.
An Act was passed in 1887, providing for rewriting of
such- records of the Superior Court as one of the judges
should find required it for their preservation. It is under
stood that some progress has been made in the transcrip
tion ol a volume. SUPREME COURT, WINDHAM COUNTY.
One volume : July, 1827, to August, 1871 ; cover off ; book
about one-third used ; unpaged. In 1866 this county, with
that of New London, formed the third judicial district, but it
was annexed to the first district in 1879.

LITCHFIELD COUNTY.

Mr. Kilbourn, the clerk, reports that the county court rec
ords are substantially complete from 1751, indexed S;fter a
fashion, and in pretty fair condition.
The files are imperfect, and some of them badly worm-'
eaten. The Superior Court records are presumed to be complete
from 1798, in pretty good condition, and poorly indexed.
The files are generally in good condition.
The Supreme Court records are understood to be complete.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

The County Court records from 1785 to December, 1800,
are missing : from 1800 to 1855 they are in good order and
indexed. The Files exist from 1785.
The Superior Court records and files from 1798 are in good
condition, and the records are indexed.
The Supreme Court records are complete from 1820.

¦^ TOLLAND COUNTY.

The clerk reports the condition of the county court records
from 1786 as good, and that they are indexed, and that the
files are in a good state.
The Superior Court records he also reports as complete
and in good order, and indexed from 1799, and that the files
are also in good order.
Of the Supreme Court he says he can find no records back
of 1853.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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