|
|
|
Preserving the Past, Informing the Future | Skip Navigation Links |
Brief Descriptions of Connecticut State Agencies
Veterans' Home
Agency Web page
| Statutory Authority
|Agency History
|
Published histories/articles
| State Library Collections
| List of Commissioners
Agency Web page
:
Not available
Statutory Authority
:
Not available
1887, the Soldiers' Hospital Board assumed control of Fitch’s Home for Soldiers.
1927, Veterans' Home Commission established per Public Acts of 1927, chpt. 264, to administer Fitch’s Home.
1947, name changed to Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission per P.A. 319.
1988, July1, Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission abolished, per P.A. 88-285, and the Veterans' Home and Hospital were placed within the new Dept. of Veterans' Affairs
Published Histories/Articles
:
Deceased Veterans Discharge
File, 1882-1936, a database consisting of veterans’ files from
Fitch’s Home for Soldiers, compiled by the Connecticut State Library :
History of Connecticut Veterans' Home, at the Connecticut Department of Veterans' Affairs web site.
Armstead, George B. The State Services of Connecticut. Published under the direction of the Committee on Public Information and the House Committee on Publications of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, 1946. pp. 152-158 [CSL Call Number ConnDoc G25 ar]
Agency Documents
and Records in the State Library Collections :
Check the State Library catalog,
CONSULS, under these author headings for publications by the agency
available in the State Library :
Connecticut. Soldiers’ Hospital Board.
Connecticut. Veterans' Home Commission.
Connecticut. Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission.
Check CONSULS under these subject headings for information about the facility :
Soldiers’ Hospital (Noroton Heights, Darien, Conn.)
Fitch’s Home for Soldiers and Soldiers' Hospital.
.Fitch’s Home for the Soldiers.
Veterans’ Home and Hospital (Rocky Hill, Conn.)
Soldier’s homes -- Connecticut.
Annual Reports are located in :
1887-1908, [CSL Call Number ConnDoc So42r] (Soldiers’ Hospital Board)
1927-1943, [CSL Call Number ConnDoc V64] (Veterans' Home Commission)
1947-1988, Digest of Administrative Reports to the Governor. [CSL Call Number ConnDoc F40 d] (Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission)
State Archives Record Groups : RG 002, RG 005, RG 013, RG 073
Facilities :
Fitch's Home for Soldiers and Orphans was located in Darien, Connecticut. Also known as the Noroton Home, it was erected by Benjamin Fitch for soldiers and the children of soldiers and was dedicated July 4, 1864. It was incorporated by legislation in 1864 and until 1883 the Home received limited aid from the State of Connecticut. On May 1, 1887, the Connecticut State Soldiers' Home Board assumed control of the Home and renamed the facility Fitch's Home for Soldiers.
On Aug. 28, 1940, Fitch's Home for Soldiers was vacated. Everyone moved to the new facility in Rocky Hill. The building and grounds were turned over to the State Military Dept.
On Sept. 14, 1940, a new Veterans' Home at Rocky Hill, constructed and equipped by the State of Connecticut and the United States as a Public Works Administration project, was dedicated.
Names |
Years of Service |
| Board Members | |
| Alfred B. Beers | 1887-1888 |
| L.A. Dickinson | 1887-1888 |
| George M. White | 1887-1888 |
| Leonard Dickinson | 1900 |
| Alfred Beers | 1900-1905 |
| William E. Morgan | 1900-1905 |
| Henry R. Jones | 1901-1904 |
| Gustavus D. Bates | 1905-1906 |
| Robert Kerr | 1906-1907 |
| George W. Couch | 1906-1908 |
| Simeon J. Fox | 1907 |
| Edwin S. Wheeler | 1908-1909 |
| Albert A. May | 1908-1911 |
| Edward A. Fuller | 1909-1910 |
| Alfred B. Beers | 1910-1920 |
| David W. Sharpe | 1912-1915 |
| Charles Fenton | 1911-1914 |
| Loren D. Penfield | 1915 |
| John H. Thacher | 1916-1925 |
| Virgil F. McNeil | 1916-1925 |
| Andrew Gordon | 1921-1924 |
| Charles F. Beck | 1922-1927 |
| Justus J. Fennel | 1922-1927 |
| Ira R. Wildman | 1925-1927 |
| Christian Swartz | 1926-1927 |
| George A. Tucker | 1926-1927 |
| Chairman of the Executive Committee | |
| Alfred B. Beers | 1915-1920 |
| John H. Thacher | 1921 |
| Secretary/Treasurer of the Board | |
| Henry J. Seeley | 1922-1927 |
| Chairman of the Commission | |
| Benedict M. Holden | July 1, 1927-Feb. 19, 1937 |
| William J. Wholean | 1937 |
| President | |
| Charles H. Sprague, M.D. | 1942 |
| Chairman | |
| Charles H. Sprague, M.D. | 1943-1949 |
| William J. Wholean | 1949-1952 |
| Alvin C. Smith | 1952-1954 |
| Vice Chairman | |
| Raymond E. Baldwin | 1955 |
| Chairman | |
| Arthur J. Connell | 1955-1962 |
| William J. Powers | 1962-1966 |
| Frank Mongillo, M.D. | 1966-1974 |
| Robert R. Cherlin | 1974-1987 |
| William J. Pomfret | 1987-1988 |
| Superintendent of the Home | |
| Byron W. Munson | 1887-1888 |
| James N. Coe | [1900-1910 |
| George Robbins | 1911-1919 |
| Colonel Henry J. Seeley | 1920-1926 |
| Commandant | |
| Henry J. Seeley | 1927 |
| Richard J. Hughes | Sept. 1927-1929 |
| William H. Welch | 1930-1934 |
| Raymond F. Gates | 1935-1952 |
| Raymond Watt | 1952-1965 |
| Robert J. Beckwith | 1965-Oct. 1, 1978 |
| Robert D. Houley | 1978-1980 |
| Nicholas M. Motto | 1980-1986 |
| David B. McQuillan (Acting) | 1986-1988 |
| David B. McQuillan | 1989-1991 |
| Hospital Administrator | |
| Sharon R. Wood | 1988-1997 |
| Norman C. Schipke | 1998 |
| Joanne M. Blum | 1999-2002 |
| Norman C. Schipke | 2003 |
| Vacancy | 2004 |
| Healthcare Services Administrator | |
| Margaret Concannon | 2005-Present |
| Director of Residential & Rehabilitative Services | |
| James J. McKinnon, III | 1999-Present |
Prepared by the Government Information and Reference Services Unit, page revised 8/2008.