RG 001:010, Connecticut Archives

Finding aid prepared by Connecticut State Library staff.

Copyright © 2012 by the Connecticut State Library

Historical Note

Between 1841 and 1843 the General Assembly hired Sylvester Judd, author of the History of Hadley, Massachusetts, to arrange, bind, and repair records and papers up to the year 1790 belonging to the state. This "First Series" of papers, consisting of 122 volumes, remained in the custody of the Secretary of the State until the first State Librarian was appointed in 1854. They were moved to the present State Library and Supreme Court Building after its completion in 1910. Also about that time additional documents from 1790 through 1820 were transferred from the office of the Secretary of the State to the State Library, along with documents of the earlier period omitted by the First Series by Mr. Judd, and were arranged by State Library staff to create the "Second Series".

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Scope and Content

Papers and correspondence of the General Assembly, the Governor and Council, and other colony or state officials.

The following series descriptions are taken from Sylvie J. Turner, "The Connecticut Archives," Bulletin of the Connecticut Historical Society 33:3 (July 1968), pp. 81-89.

Civil Officers, 1st series, 1669-1756, 3 volumes and 1 index volume.
Documents relating to election, appointment, or certification of governors, deputy governors, assistants, representatives tot he Assemlby, judges, naval officers, surveyors, physicians, etc. Also included are bills on court procedures and on the formation of counties, governors' messages to the Assembly, disputes in the Assembly about the method of choosing governors and deputy governors, and a list of the freemen of the colony in 1669. The arrangement is roughly chronological.

Civil Officers, 2nd series, 1673-1820, 24 unbound volumes in 12 boxes and 1 index volume.
Documents relating to organizational and housekeeping operations of the legislature, the buidling of what is now the Old State House in 1796, the revision and publication of laws and statutes, the election of executive officers and assistants, the appointment of judicial and other civil officers, the adoption of the Connecticut Constitution of 1818, questions of individual citizenship decided by the Assembly, the actions that Connecticut took regarding ratifications of amendments to the U.S. Constitution, etc. The arrangement is topical. Index precedes each unbound volume.

Colleges and Schools, 1st series, 1660/1-1789, 2 volumes in 3 and 1 index volume.
Documents relationg to the founding of Yale College, its rectors, its lands and legacies, ts removal to New Haven, its administration, its buildings, etc.; acts and laws relating to grammer schools and Indian schools; petitions for copyright of books; and other miscellaneous acts and petitions. The arrangement is roughly chronological.

Colleges and Schools, 2nd series, 1718-1820, 3 volumes and 1 index volume.
Public acts relating to schools and documents relating to Yale College, petitions from academies and school societies, and material relating to the operations of the Connecticut School Fund. The arrangement is topical.

Colonial Boundaries, 1st series, 1642-1827, 3 volumes and 1 index volume.
Colonial and State Boundaries, 2nd series, 1644-1820, 1 unbound volume in 1 box.
Correspondence, agreements, records of Council meetings, petitions, acts, committee reports, copies of deeds, and mpas, all relating to the boundaries between Connecticut and the three adjoining states - Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. The arrangement is topical. Index precedes unbound volume in 2nd series.

Corporations, 1790-1820, 2 volumes and 1 index volume.
Public acts relating to corporations, and petitions and acts of incorporation of insurance companies, library companies, aqueduct companies, charitable societies, learned societies, and miscellaneous societies. The arrangement is topical.

Colonial Wars, 1st series, 1675-1786, 10 volumes in 17 and 3 index volumes.
Colonial Wars, 2nd series, 1689/90-1806, 1 unbound volume in 1 box.
Correspondence, financial accounts, resolves, etc., relating to the various colonial wars. The first series also contains papers relating to the agents of the colony in England, 1751-1786. The arrangement is chronological for the first series and topical for the second. Index precedes unbound volume in 2nd series.

Court Papers, 1649-1709, 1 volume and 1 index volume.
Files of the Court of Assistants for hte years 1699/1700-1706. The court was composed of members of the Upper House of the General Assembly. The files include pleadings, copies of county court records, records of costs, etc. The arrangement is roughly chronological.(See also Crimes and Misdemeanors and Private Controversies series.)

Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1st series, 1662/3-1789, 6 volumes in 7 and 1 index volume.
Cases of counterfeiting, burglary, defamation, murder, and other criminal cases; also papers on divorce cases; and papers relating to the establishment and regulation of Newgate Prison. They include selected documents from the files of the Superior Court and the Court of Assistants, in addition to the criminal cases that came to the General Assembly. Depositions, pleading, records of lower court decisions, etc. are some of the types of papers found here. The arrangement is roughly chronological.(See also Court Papers and Private Controversies series.)

Crimes and Misdemeanors, 2nd series, 1671-1820, 5 unbound volumes in 3 boxes.
Criminal cases that came before the General Assembly. Bills and acts relating to punishment of crimes, criminal procedure, Newgate Prison, Wethersfield State Prison, etc. are also included. The arrangement is topical. Index percedes each unbound volume.

Ecclesiastical Affairs, 1st series, 1658-1789, 15 volumes in 16 and 3 index volumes.
Petitions for the formation of separate societies, proclamations of the governor, articles of faith of several churches, letters, acts, maps, etc. Topics include the settlement and support of ministers, the organization and division of parishes, dissenters, etc.The arrangement is roughly chronological.

Ecclesiastical Affairs, 2nd series, 1666-1820, 6 volumes and 1 index volume.
Public acts relating to ecclesiastical affairs; petitions and resolves relating to the Congregational ecclesiastical societies, and the Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Shaker societies; governors' proclamations for Fast and Thanksgiving days; maps; and material relating to missions and missionary societies, the Connecticut Bible Society, the Toleration Act, etc. The arrangement is topical.

Estates of Deceased Persons, 1640-1820, 22 unbound volumes in 11 boxes.
Petitions from administrators and executors of estates requesting permission to sell land to meet the debts of the estates, and the Assembly acts and resolves. The arrangement is alphabetical by name of deceased person. Index precedes each unbound volume.

Estates of Incompetent Persons, 1711/12-1820, 5 unbound volumes in 11 boxes.
Petitions from administrators or executors of estates requesting permission to sell land, or petitions requesting that estates be turned over to petitioners to manage, and the Assembly acts and resolves. The arrangement is alphbetical by name of incompetent person. Index precedes each unbound volume.

Estates of Minors, 1715-1820, 11 unbound volumes in 6 boxes.
Petitions from heirs, administrators, or executors of estates requesting permission to sell land, and the Assembly acts and resolves. Also included are a few petitions relating to estates of absconded persons, estates of insolvent persons, and estates of married women. The arrangement is topical. Index precedes each unbound volume.

Finance and Currency, 1st series, 1677-1789, 5 volumes and 1 index volume.
Acts, resolves, and petitions relating to bills of credit, salaries, grants, treasury, taxation, counterfeiting, etc. Also included are state accounts, grand lists, and a list of state debt. The arrangement is roughly chronological.

Finance and Currency, 2nd series, 1689/90-1820, 16 unbound volumes in 8 boxes and 1 index volume.
Banks and banking, money, mortgages, bills of credit, notes, bonds, taxation, treasury, private claims, state property, etc. The arrangement is topical. Index also precedes each unbound volume.

Finances, 1709-1742, 2 volumes and 1 index volume.
Colonial Treasurer's accounts as audited. The arrangement is chronological.

Foreign Correspondence, 1st series, 1661-1775, 2 volumes in 3 and 1 index volume.
Foreign Correspondence, 2nd series, 1666-1768, 1 unbound volume.
Correspondence with the British government and correspondence with colonial agents in England. The papers contain letters from British sovereigns and much correspondence between COnnecticut and the Board of Trade. Some of the material relates to the obtaining of Connecticut's colonial charter in 1662. The arrangement is topical. Index prcedes inbound volume in 2nd series.

Indians, 1st series, 1647-1789, 2 volumes in 3 and 1 index volume.
Indians, 2nd series, 1666-1820, 2 volumes and 1 index volume.
Letters, petitions, committee reports, acts, resolves, deeds, treaties, etc., relating to Indians, Indian land disputes, the Mohegan land controversy, and other Indian affairs. Many of the documents concern Uncas, Owaneco, etc. The arrangement is chronological for the first series and topical for the second.

Industry, 1st series, 1643/4-1789, 2 volumes and 1 index volume.
Industry, 2nd series, 1747-1820, 3 volumes and 1 index volume.
Acts, resolves, petitions, committee reports, etc. relating to agriculture, fisheries, manufactures, mines and mining, horse brands. etc. Also included is a specimen of printing from one of the first types cast in America, 1669. The arrangement is topical.

Insolvent Debtors, 1st series, 1762-1788, 1 volume and 1 index volume.
Insolvent Debtors, 2nd series, 1750-1820, 13 unbound volumes in 7 boxes and 1 index volume.
Petitions for acts of insovency, with resolves, committee repots, etc., relating to these petitions. Bankruptcy laws and statutes are also included. The arrangement is chronological for the first series and topical for the second. Index also precedes each unbound volume in 2nd series.

Lotteries and Divorces, 1st series, 1754-1789, 1 volume and 1 index volume.
Petitions for lotteries for the benefit of the treasury, roads, lighthouses, meeting houses, etc.; resolves and statutes on lotteries; petitions for divorce; and resolves and depositions on divorce cases. The arrangement is topical.

Lotteries and Divorces, 2nd series, 1718-1820, 2 unbound volumes in 1 box and 1 index volume.
Petitions for divorce, resolves and depositions on divorce cases, laws and statutes on marriage and divorce, and laws and statutes on lotteries (only 7 documents relating to lotteries). The arrangement is topical.

Militia, 1st series, 1659-1759, 5 volumes and 1 index volume.
Certifications of election of officers of train-bands, memorials on milita affairs, commissions, etc. The arrangement is chronological.

Militia, 2nd series, 1742-1797, 16 volumes and 2 index volumes.
Acts and laws relating to militia, official election returns from local milita companies, appointment of officers, memorials, committee reports, etc. The arrangement is chronological.

Militia, 3rd series, 1728-1720, 18 volumes and 2 index volumes.
Acts and laws relating to militia, official election returns from local militia companies, appointment of officers, papers from the adjutant-general's department and the quartermaster-general's department, court martial papers, petitions for pensions, and other private claims and petitions. The arrangement is topical.

Miscellaneous, 1st series, 1635-1789, 3 volumes in 6 and 1 index volume.
A miscellany of topics, including correspondence between Governor Andros and Connecticut, documents relating to the union of New Haven Colonby with Conneecticut, New England Confederation papers, law suits appealed to England, writs of quo warranto against the colony, documents relating to the regicides, acts and petitions relating to slavery, petitions for aid in cases of house burnings, acts relating to smallpox, inquests in cases of sudden death, briefs for charitable collections, documents relating to the State House at New Haven, acts constituting new counties, etc. The arrangement is chronological.

Miscellaneous, 2nd series, 1686-1820, 2 volumes and 1 index volume.
Acts and laws relating to sickness, resolves providing for care of ill transients, laws and petitions relating to slavery, documents concerning a memorial to George Washington, documents relating to printing new maps of Connecticut, petitions for lotteries, laws relating to the poor, petitions for relief of poor, etc. The arrangement is topical.

Private Controversies, 1st series, 1639-1717, 6 volumes and 1 index volume.
File papers of the private law suits in the Court of Assistants and the General Assembly, including some wills, inventories, deeds, bonds, etc. The arrangement is chronological. (See also Court Papers and Crimes and Misdemeanors series.)

Private Controversies, 2nd series, 1636-1811, 31 unbound volumes in 16 boxes.
Petitions, supporting documents, and resolves relating to the private law suits before the General Assembly, most of the suits concerning land and debt. The arrangement is alphabetical by name of petitioner. Index precedes each unbound volume.

Revolutionary War, 1st series, 1763-1789, 37 volumes in 54 and 8 index volumes.
Pay and muster rolls; letters, petitions, resolves, financial accounts, etc., relating to the Stamp and Sugar Acts; the Congress of 1765; the expedition to Ticonderoga; the Lexington alarm; the burning of Farifield, Danbury, New HAven, Norwich, etc.; military supplies; Loyalists and confiscated estates; vesselsl slavery; the COnnecticut line; the adoption of the U.S. COnstitution; etc. The arrangement is chronological.

Revolutionary War, 2nd series, 1756-1856, 56 volumes.
Pay and muster rolls, financial accounts, records of the Committee of the Pay Table, etc. The arrangement is topical.

Revolutionary War, 3rd series, 1765-1820, 6 volumes and 1 index volume.
State's troops and defenses, taxation, Loyalists, confiscated estates, the Society of the Cincinnati, etc. A large part of the series is composed of private claims and petitions. The arrangement is topical.

Susquehannah Settlers, 1755-1796, Western Lands, 1783-1789, 1st series, 1 volume and 1 index volume.
Susquehannah Settlers, 1771-1797, Western Lands, 1783-1819, 2nd series, 1 volume and 1 index volume.
Acts, resolves, petitions, committee reports, deeds, etc., relating to the Susquehannah Company, the settlement of Westmoreland county, the Wymoning valley massacre of 1778, the Delaware Company, the Connecticut Land Company, the Connecticut gore lands, and the settlement of the Western lands belonging to Connecticut. The arrangement is chronological for both series.

Towns and Lands, 1st series, 1629-1789, 10 volumes in 13 and 1 index volume.
Towns and Lands, 2nd series, 1649-1820, 5 volumes and 1 index volume.
Town charters and patents; acts regulating town affairs; deeds; petitions and resolves relating to town affairs and lands; horse brands; maps and plans relating to the settlement of towns and boundaries, highways, grants of land; etc. The arrangement is chronological for the first series and topical by town for the second.

Trade and Maritime Affairs, 1st series, 1668-1789, 2 volumes in 4 and 1 index volume.
Letters, petitions, appointments, acts, bonds, etc., relating to imports and exports, custom duties, navigation laws, lighthouses, the New London Soviety for Trade and Commerce, the Spanish ship case, etc., and also papers concerning Indian lands in Massachusetts. The arrangement is chronological.

Trade and Maritime Affairs, 2nd series, 1685-1820, 2 volumes and 1 index volume.
Acts, petitions, resolves, committee reports, etc., relating to rivers and harbors, canals, interstate commerce, pilots, customs duuties, empbargo, imports and exports, inspection of provisions, navigation laws, etc. The arrangement is topical.

Travel, Highways, Ferries, Bridges, and Taverns, 1st series, 1670-1788, 3 volumes in 5 and 1 index volume.
Travel, Highways, Ferries, Bridges, and Taverns, 2nd series, 1737-1820, 17 volumes and 2 index volumes.
documents and maps relating to travel, highways, ferries, bridges, taverns, state an dpost roads, and turnpikes. The arrangement is chronological for the first series and topical for the seocnd.

War of 1812, 1812-1819, 3 volumes and 1 index volume.
Acts of the General Assembly relating to the war; governors' messages; milita laws; reports of the commissary-general, paymaster-general, and quartermaster-general; U.S. accounts; private claims and petitions; acts and resolves rleating to seacoast defense and shipping protection; letters, resolves, and committee reports relating to the Hartford Convention; testimonials, etc. The arrangement is topical.

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Arrangement

Arranged into 27 series by subject and then arranged either chronologically or topically as noted in the Scope and Content note.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Researchers should first consult use copies when available. See Alternate Form Available Section below.

See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.

Restrictions on Use

See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.

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Index Terms

Subjects:

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Administrative Information

Alternative Form Available

Microfilms of all series are arranged alphabetically by series title in a cabinet in the History and Genealogy Reading Room and are to be considered the use copies. "Copy 2" of films are available for use through Interlibrary Loan.

The following series were filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and are available for use through LDS Family History Centers. Film numbers are shown in the LDS Family History Catalog. The easiest access is through an "Author" search on "Judd, Sylvester" and then selecting the appropriate "Connecticut Archives" series. Civil Officers, 1st series, 1669-1756; Colonial Wars, 1st series, 1675-1775; Colonial Wars, 2nd series, 1689-1806; Ecclesiastical Affairs, 1st series, 1658-1789; Indians, 1st series, 1647-1789; Lotteries and Divorces, 1st series, 1755-1789; Lotteries and Divorces, 2nd, 1718-1820; Militia, 1st series, 1678-1757; Militia, 2nd series, 1747-1786; Militia, 3rd series, 1728-1820; Revolutionary War, 1st series, 1763-1789; Revolutionary War, 2nd series, 1756-1856; Revolutionary War, 3rd series, 1765-1820; Susquehanna Settlers 1755-1796 and Western Lands 1783-1789, 1st series; War of 1812. 1812-1819.

Films not currently available on Interlibrary Loan or through Family History Centers must be used at the State Library.

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Other Finding Aid

Indexes: Bound and slip indexes to the Connecticut Archives" are available for use in the History and Genealogy Reading Room. Images of the several of the bound indexes are available online through the State Library's Digital Collections. Links are provided after the series title in the listing below. documents are indexed by locality, subject and by names of individuals. The index entries provide volume, document numbers, and page numbers. Separate indexes are also found at the front of most of the original Connecticut Archives volumes and are included on the microfilms.

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Inventory