LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION

by Jonathan Porter, MLS

Below is an annotated bibliography of titles that are located in the Local History Collection at South Windsor Public Library.

The designation for this collection is LHC. This collection includes titles on South Windsor, Hartford, Hartford County and the State of Connecticut. The titles that are listed under South Windsor sometimes include the towns of Windsor, East Windsor and South Windsor. This is due to the historical development of this geographical area. In 1633, the first English settlement was discovered in what is now Windsor. The geographical area included what is now East Windsor, parts of Windsor Locks, Bloomfield and South Windsor. This is mentioned only because sometimes there are listings in this bibliography that include these other towns.

R352.72 Cemeteries of South Windsor, prepared by Edith M. Vibert, 1976

V65C

This is a list of town cemeteries and their approximate

dates of being laid out. As South Windsor was not incorporated

until 1845, there are locations in other towns (East Windsor,

Windsor, etc.). Each cemetery has a history.

974.6 Connecticut’s Old Timbered Crossings by Michael C. DeVito,

1964. Published by DeVito Enterprises, Warehouse Point,

Connecticut. (#542 of 1500 copies)

Here is a chronological list and descriptions of Connecticut’s

covered bridges. Table of Contents is by subject, highway

bridges, and railways bridges. An included index is by County

And Township.

R254.058

C76 l List of Congregational Ecclesiastical Societies, established in

CT before 1818 with their changes. c. 1913. Hartford, publ.

By CT Historical Society.

This is an alphabetical list with brief descriptions.

R352.009 So Plan of Appropriateness and protection for the South Windsor

Historic District. c. 1972

This is a typed plan for the South Windsor Historic District,

attaching administrative regulations and procedures, which intend

to provide a standard for town buildings.

R929.2F8l William Foster Genealogy c.1948, rev.ed. 1984. Committee

appointed in 1982 includes Lois F. Watson et al. Spiralbound.

William Foster was a farmer in Wapping. He built a house in

1822 there. This is his family’s genealogy.

332.12So1P Passbook to a proud past and a promising future: 1819-1969.

150^th Anniversary of Society for Savings. 1969 by Ellsworth

S. and Marion H. Grant.

This is a history of the bank Society of Savings in Hartford and

a brief history of Hartford, CT itself.

338.74G76S Stanadyne: a history, by Ellsworth S. Grant, ed. By Grace Martin

and designed by Wondriska Associates, Windsor,CT. Stanadyne,

1985.

This is a history of the Stanadyne Corporation, which

manufactures automotive fuel pumps and filters. Innovations are

listed from 1900-1985, as are the founding companies from 1872-

1955.

342.46 B63c Crusaders & Criminals, victims and visionaries: historic encounters between Connecticut citizens ...

This is a fascinating book which describes cases against the

U.S. Supreme Court by Connecticut citizens. For example, take the Estate of Thornton vs. Caldor. David

not think he would have to choose between his job and his

religion. A devout Presbyterian, David felt that he shouldn’t

have to work on Sundays. Caldor’s felt otherwise. As a dept.

manager, Caldor felt it obvious for David to work one Sunday per

month. David felt otherwise. It’s a great description of, loosely,

Church vs. State.

R362.18C49 Citizens of South Windsor: Did you know that this is the onlyTown in the area without an ambulance service?

Here is a bound pamphlet which is basically a plug to get the town

a volunteer ambulance corporation. Obviously it worked.

366.1C26T “Thank you Mr. Edwards”: A Bicentennial History of the

Grand Lodge of Connecticut. Written by James Royal Case &

Merle P. Tapley. C.1989

This is a history of Freemasonry in Connecticut from 1733-

1988. Freemasonry is the name of one of the oldest &

largest fraternal organizations in the world. It is dedicated

to the ideals of charity, equality, morality & service to God.

Each state has its own Grand Lodge.

630.1 L The Grange in Connecticut, by Lida Skilton Ives. Published by

Dowd Printing Co, Winsted, CT, 1953

This paperbound title is a history of granges in the state. A

grange is a farm and rural community service organization.

The book is an amazing history of minutae of the state’s granges

from 1875 to 1952. One would think it’s more than you ever

want to know about the state’s granges. But it certainly is

complete.

641.815So8Y Yeast feast breadbook. Edited by Rita Hyman. Published in 1975

by South Windsor Public Library.

The “Yeast Feast” was a breadmaking program presented by the

library on 4/17/75. The book is a collection of recipes for breads

and other yeasty goodies that were served then, located at St.

Margaret Mary’s Church.

797.122D61V Voyage of the Ant, by James Dina. Stackpole Books,

Harrissburg, PA, 1989 (signed by the author)

A true story of building a birchbark canoe with stone tools,

paddling up the Connecticut River, to rediscover the lost world

of the Indians.

650.025 So8 South Windsor Manufacturing Directory, 1985. Published by the

Town of South Windsor.

641.865 C77 Cookie Capers Cookie Book. Edited by Linda Gates, published

by the Friends of the South Windsor Public Library, 1978. Ill.

This is a collection of cookie recipes made by the Kookie

Kulinaries of the South Windsor Public Library.

R725.16 F18P Post Office on the Hill. By Linda Falcinelli.

This is a history of the East Windsor Hill post office. It was written

as an American Studies 501 paper by the author in December

1979 for Trinity College.

R728.37 M51 Memories of Main Street (South Windsor). July 3, 1976

Here is a description of historic houses on “Old” Main Street,

South Windsor, CT, between the Scantic River travelling south to

Strong Road. Map is included, as this was a historic site walking

tour put together by the South Windsor Historical Society.

R929 G75S The Grant Family, 1601-1899. “Stand Fast” Edited by Arthur

Hastings Grant,; published in Poughkeepsie, NY, 1899.

A Report of the First Reunion of the Grant Family Association at

Windsor & Hartford, Connecticut on October 27, 1899. This was

the celebration of the 298^th anniversary of the birth of Matthew

Grant.

R917.62P94 Profile of South Windsor, 1985. Published & prepared by the

Town of South Windsor.

An interesting, albeit older profile of the town. This report

includes population , housing, labor characteristics, a list of

services, civic organizations & clubs. A continuation of the

characteristics and statistics is found through www.census.gov

R757.9Il6 An illustrated catalogue of known portraits by Jared B. Flagg,

1820-1899. Compiled by Miss Helen D. Perkins, sponsored & published by the Stowe-Day Foundation, 1972.

Jared B. Flagg was a genre and portrait painter who was born in

New Haven , CT in 1820. This is a selected catalogue of his portraits for a 3 month exhibit at Nook Farm in Hartford. The portraits are copied in black & white.

974.6C76t no.36 Connecticut Newspapers in the Eighteenth Century. Published

for the Tercentenary Commission of the State of Connecticut by

the Yale University Press, 1935.

Here is a 30 page essay written by Jarvis Means Morse. It includes

short descriptions of various 18^th century state newspapers,

including the Connecticut Gazette(1755), Hartford Courant and

The Connecticut Journal and New haven Post Boy.

974.6C76t no.37 Slavery in Connecticut. Published for the Tercentenary Commission by the Yale University Press, 1935. Written by

Ralph Foster Weld.

811T Connecticut poets: an anthology of 88 contemporaries. Henry

Harrison, NY,NY, 1932.

This is an anthology of poems written by Connecticut poets in

the 19^th & early 20^th centuries. The list of poets is alphabetical

and the book is forwarded by two of the poets, Lucia Trent, and

Ralph Cheyney.

917.46Em The Connecticut Guide: what to see and where to find it.

Compiled by Edgar L. Heermance. Published by the Emergency

Relief Commission, Hartford CT, 1935.

This is a description of the state, town by town, with an

alphabetical and geographical index. Under South Windsor, for

example, are descriptions of the Samuel Webster House, followed by other buildings, which are located on U.S. Route 5. One unusual listing is “R.15 runs northeast to the village of Wapping, passing an Active Sand Dune, one of the largest in the state…”

Interesting because I wonder where this san dune is located.

Pamphlet South Windsor: historical brief and town facts. Reprint 1992 by

South Windsor Public Library. Originally published by League

Of Women Voters.

This pamphlet contains a brief history of the town, with discussion

Of wars, tobacco growing, the people, types of work, & education.

R920 Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, 4v.; comp. By Samuel

Hart, et al. American Historical Society, 1917

This set is a wonderful compilation of short biographies of

“Representative Citizens” of Connecticut. Most have a portrait of

the person. The biographies include persons from the 17^th, 18^th,

and 19^th centuries, and include such luminaries as Harriet Beecher

Stowe. One limitation is that the indicies are for each volume only,

So no cumulative index exists. Still, a fine set.

R920C Legislative History and Souvenir of Connecticut- Vol.VIII,

1911-12. Published 1912 by William Harrison Taylor of Hartford.

A very limited and specific document, it entails biographical

portraits of the Connecticut Legislature of 1911.

R970.446Sp4c Connecticut circa 1625, its Indian trails, villages, and sachemdoms,

Published by the Connecticut Society of the Colonial Dames of

America, Inc. 1934. Compiled by Mathias Spiess.

A description of territorial areas, Indian traps and maps.

929.5D15g God’s Acre, by Barney E. Daley. Published by author, 1985, in

South Windsor, CT

Barney Daley, who is still very much alive at the young age of 94,

is quite a local character. He has written and published several

books on local history. God’s Acre is a history of Ye Old Burial

Ground in South Windsor. Photographs of the burial stones make

Up a large part of this book. Also, there is a list of epitaphs on the

Stones.

970.446D15f Five Thousand Years at Podunk, by Barney E. Daley. Published by

the author in South Windsor, CT in 1984.

Mr. Daley has written a fascinating history of the Podunk Indian, who lived along the banks of the Connecticut River.

R973.73C76c Connecticut Civil War Centennial: Connecticut Military and Naval

Leaders in the Civil War. Bound pamphlet compiled by E.P.Leddy

And E.J. Lonergan, c. 1965?

This is a listing of short biographies with portraits of state born military and naval leaders. This pamphlet is a good supplement

To Croffut (see below)

974.62G53w Wadsworth, or the Charter Oak, written and published by

W.H. Gocher. Hartford, CT, 1904.

This is the story of how the state charter came to be hidden in an

Oak tree by Wadsworth, and the history surrounding the charter.

974.6C Military and Civil History of Connecticut during the War of

1861-65, by W.A.Croffut and John M. Morris, 3^rd edition rev.,

1869, published by Ledyard Bill, New York.

A history of Connecticut linking up to the Civil War is the

Fascinating subject of this book. It also seems like it is more

Than you could ever want to know about Connecticut’s ________

About the Civil War.

974.6 Cascades and Courage: the history of the Town of Vernon and The City of Rockville, Connecticut, compiled by George S. Brookes, published by T.F.Rady & Co., Rockville, CT, 1955

This is a history of Vernon & Rockville, Connecticut, its local

industries, church history, education, and other interesting facts.

974.6B Hartford State House of 1796, by Newton C. Brainard,

Connecticut Historical Society, 1964.

An illustrated history of the most identifiable building in

Hartford (next to the Travelers Tower, City Place and the Colt

Dome) is the ‘Old State House’.

974.63F27g Great Hartford Picture Book, by Wilson H. Faude. Published

by Donning company, Norfolk, VA, 1985.

This hardbound book is a wonderful pictorial collection of

Photographs of Hartford, arranged alphabetically by place

Or subject. It was published as a celebration of the founding of Connecticut at its 350^th anniversary and the settlement of

Hartford. For the next few years, the Hartford Public Library

Historical Collection, which includes thousands upon thousands

Of photos of Hartford & Connecticut, will be closed due to reconstruction of the old part of the library, and most of its contents unavailable for public use. So, in lieu of this closure,

This book is a very good representation of Hartford history.

974.6 2v. Guide to the History and Historic Sites Of Connecticut, by

Florence S. Marcy Crofut. Yale University Press, 1937

This two volume set is a collective history of Connecticut’s

169 towns, arranged by county. Importance of towns was

inherent in the conditions under which this state was

settled and developed. Included in the text is a political

history of Connecticut.

R974.6B Connecticut Historical Collections, by John Warner Barber, 1836

Publ. By B.L. Hamlen, New Haven, CT

This is a good companion piece to Crofut (see above)

974.6C55 A History of Connecticut: It’s People and Institutions, by George L. Clark. Putnam, 1914, 2^nd edition.

Here is a history of Connecticut Indians, the state’s wars, how

People lived in the early days-including religious life, education,

Manufacturing, government, art, music, and agriculture.

R974.6G Highways and Byways of Connecticut. Written and published by

G.Fox & Co., 1947(commemorating it’s 100^th year in Hartford

(1847-1947).

This is a really oddball collection of historical information of the

State. It includes description of cities and towns, mountains,

Governors, industries. In looking up South Windsor, I discovered

A rather weird description of John Fitch, the 18^th century

Wandering clockmaker and steam boat inventor.

974.6T Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884

2v., edited by J. Hammond Trumbull, published by Edward L.

Osgood, Boston, Ma, 1886.

974.6H Story of Connecticut. 3v. authored & illustrated by Robert N.

Holcomb, 1935-36, published by the Hartford Times, Hartford, CT

Here is a black & white illustrated history of Connecticut, in comic book format. A great source for kids and adults alike.

974.6 J64 Connecticut: a study of a Commonwealth-Democracy by Alexander Johnston. Riverside Press, Cambridge MA, 1887.

The purpose of this book is to present certain features in the development of Connecticut, which have influenced the general development of the state system in this country. Features are as followed:

1. Connecticut’s town system

2. Constitution of 1639 (first on record)

3. Convention of 1787

4. Western Colonization

5. Survival of State people during the Industrial Revolution

974.6T South Windsor, by Reverend Increase N. Tarbox., c.?

This is part of a memorial history of Hartford County.

East Windsor Heritage: Two Hundred Years of Church and

Community History 1752-1952, by G. Stephen Potwin. Published

By the Journal Publishing Co., Rockville, CT, for the First

Congregational Church of East Windsor, 1952

974.62D East Windsor Through the Years, by Michael C. DeVito.

Published by the East Windsor Historical Society, Warehouse

Point, CT, 1968.

This book contains good photographs of buildings, and maps. Sections of its contents include Indians, early settlers, town government, churches, schools, etc.

974.62K88h History of South Windsor, Connecticut: Settlement to Incorporation, 1634-1845, by Lori Jean Kremidas.

This is a typed paper with illustrations, written in 1981.

974.62P25s A Short History of South Windsor, Connecticut. Written by Cynthia Partridge, South Windsor Planning Dept., 1985. Includes maps.

This is a great introduction to the history of our town.

R974.62D62 Directory of Descendants of the Founders of Windsor, Connecticut. Compiled for the Windsor 350^th Anniversary Committee by Stephen E. Simon & Kent C.L. Avery, 1983

This directory is an alphabetical list of descendants; a good source for genealogical research.

R974.62G41l “Letters” on the history of South Windsor published in the Hartford Times in 1857 and 1858, written by Horace Gillette.

This is a very esoteric collection of the history of South Windsor of the mid 1850’s. This might have been put together for some history or school project.

R974.62G76e Excerpts from the History of the Town of South Windsor by Judge Ralph M. Grant, 1951.

974.62 El6l Long Hill: South Windsor Connecticut; “Reminiscences” a family

record of Early American life by Mary Janette Elmore, published by the South Windsor Historical Society, Inc, c.1976.

This book bridges the gap between the founding of our nation and

Its Bicentennial Celebration. The author, when 80 years old, wrote this in 1911, and was discovered only some 30 years ago.

974.62D15t Tobacco Parish: A Collection of South Windsor Memories,

Written by Barney E. Daley, 1998. Published by the author.

Mr. Daley is a colorful local author, who worked in the

Tobacco fields. He has a good sense of humor. The book was written in a conversational style.

Corner Stone of Colonial Commerce, written by John A. Stoughton. Published by Little, Brown in Boston, 1911

This is a description of the “seed leaf” tobacco region of Connecticut, which includes the areas of Windsor, Hartford, Wethersfield, and South Windsor.

R974.62Av3s Settlement of Windsor Connecticut. Written by Kent C.L. Avery and Donna L. Siemiatkoski of the Windsor 350^th Anniversary Committee. Published by Aetna Life & Casualty, Hartford, CT, 1983.

974.62G76C The City of Hartford: 1784-1984, an illustrated history. Written by Ellsworth Strong Grant & Marion Hepburn Grant. Published by The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT, c. 1986

R974.62So8S South Windsor: a historical brief and town facts. Compiled by the South Windsor League of Women Voters, c. 19__.

Here is an informational pamphlet on the Town of South Windsor. It starts off by describing the first people of the area, the Podunk Indians. Other facts include the first settlers, the way they worked and lived, and the town government. There is a short history of the growth and use of tobacco; and a brief biography of Eli terry, who was known as “a cheap Yankee clock maker”.

R B Fitch John Fitch: The first in the World’s History to Invent and apply Steam Propulsion of Vessels through water, compiled for the Admiral Bunce Section, Hartford, CT, No.42, of the National Navy League of the United States; published by R.S.Peck & Co., Hartford, CT, c.1912.

Here is a short biographical sketch of John Fitch, a native of Windsor, Connecticut. He is known primarily for producing serviceable steamboats before Robert Fulton.

R920R Record of South Windsor Men in the War of the Rebellion (known as the Civil War). This is a bound handwritten list of names furnished by the Veteran’s Association in accordance with vote of Town at Annual Meeting October 1, 1984. The first few pages of text list sources where the information was culled. A very good historical secondary source.

Service Records Connecticut: Men and women in the Armed Forces of the United States during World war 1917-1920. 3 vols.

Published by United Printing Services, New Haven, CT, for the Office of The Adjutant General, State Armory, Hartford, CT

This amazing source lists CT men & women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I. Towns are listed first, then alphabetically by name. Information includes Which service the person was in, address, when & where enlisted and when discharged.

White 3-ring

Notebook Wood memorial Library. C. 1993.

This is a directory of Wood Memorial Library, 783 Main Street, South Windsor, Connecticut. (860) 289-1783.The contents include regulations of the library; there are no restrictions to the collections, but access to the archives themselves is by appointment only. Below is a list of annotated archives listed by contents:

Individual family papers/collections

Organizations & clubs

Libraries

Schools

Business

Town Records

Subjects

Calling card collection

&nbs