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Historical 17th Century Hartford Tour

One Elizabeth Street at Asylum Avenue Hartford, CT 06105 Tel: (860) 236-5621 Fax: (860) 236-2664 Email: ask_us@chs.org Directions Opening Hours Museum Galleries: noon to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday Library: 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday Last admission at 4:15 pm Closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

click to enlarge From Interstate Route 84, west of downtown Hartford, take exit 46 (Sisson Avenue). Turn right at the end of the ramp onto Sisson Avenue. At the second traffic light turn left onto Farmington Avenue. Go one block and turn right onto Girard Avenue (at Arrow Pharmacy). At the second intersection turn right onto Elizabeth Street. The Connecticut Historical Society, with ample free parking, is the second drive on the right.

Admission Fees Admission is FREE for CHS members and children aged six years and under. One-day pass to museum galleries for non-members: $6 adults, $3 seniors (60 and over), $3 students (with valid college ID), $3 youth (6-17). One-day pass to the library for non-members: $6 adults, $3 seniors (60 and over), $3 students (with valid college ID), $3 youth (6-17). In addition visitors to the library may purchase multi-visit passes: Adults (3 visits): $15 Seniors, students and youth (5 visits): $10 Admission may apply to programs and events. Please call (860) 236-5621 for information. Free admission to the museum galleries the first Saturday and Sunday of every month

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Art & Artifact Collections

The museum collection features nearly 35,000 objects documenting thecultural, social, political, economic, and military history of Connecticut’speople.

The Seventeenth-Century Collection

Paintings, furniture, architectural elements, English and Native American tools and weapons from Connecticut’s first century are just some of the items in this collection.

The Costume & Textile Collection

See the Digital Exhibit

Numbering more than 8,000 items, this collection represents a significant portion of the museumÕs holdings. The majority of pieces are costume and accessory items ranging in date from the early 1700s to the present day, including rare, early examples of everyday wear. Primarily focused on textile and clothing items worn or used by Connecticut residents, the collection nonetheless represents the changing styles and development of textile technologies affecting New England and the nation. Quilts, coverlets, bed hangings, linens, samplers, and other needlework items comprise the textile collection.

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Some Current Exhibits

Tours & Detours Through Early Connecticut

Ongoing

An award-winning exploration of rustic life in Connecticut more than 200 years ago, following the trails of the early settlers. Try on Colonial clothing of the period, and much more. Experience the American Revolution through a descriptive sound and light gallery that evokes an in-the-moment sense of place and time. Call (860) 236-5621 for further information.

 

Amistad - A True Story of Freedom

Ongoing

A highly sensory, award-winning, multi-media exhibit throughout five galleries that explores the Africans’ struggle for freedom and the Connecticut people who helped them achieve it in New London, New Haven, Hartford and Farmington, following the 1839 revolt on the ship Amistad. Call (860) 236-5621 for further information.

About the exhibit

Recipient of an Awardof Merit in 1999 by the American Association of State and Local History “inrecognition of excellence compared with similar activities in North America.”

 

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Library

The Library houses over 100,000 books, including many rare books and children's books, and 3,000,000 manuscripts, including account books, diaries, and letters. These "voices from the past" help us understand the people and events of our state's history.

Online Catalog

All library items cataloged after 1984 are included in our new online catalog.

A portion of the CHS Library’s holdings are also represented in the reQuest system, Connecticut’s union catalog.

Genealogy and Family History

CHS holds one of the finest genealogical collections in the nation. To discover our resources, click here. These include:

Online Resources

The Library is also a subscriber to a number of online genealogical research sites, and from the CHS you will have full access to these online databases. We also have CD-ROM resources that you may make complete use of.

 

Old Statehouse and Thomas Hooker sculpture by Frances L. Wadsworth (1950) Old State House 800 Main Street,Hartford, Connecticut 06103 860.522.6766 Statue of Thomas Hooker in Old State House Square. William Cornwell “ removed before March 5, 1648 from the village of Hartford to the east side of the Connecticut River at Hocanum. On that date he bound out his second son, William who was seven years old, to Susannah Hooker of Hartford, widow of the Reverend Thomas Hooker, with provision for his education. The original indentrue in the handwriting of Governor Edward Hopkins is still in existence.” -- Line of Descent of George Roger Gilbert “Salem may be famous for its witches, for instance, but did you know that the first New England "witch" was brutally killed in Hartford? That's right, on May 27, 1647, Alse Young of Windsor was hung on the spot where the Old State House now stands, a full 55 years before Salem erupted. ”--The Best of Hartford 1999 The Hartford Advocate The beautiful, new renovated Old State House is now open, free to all visitors: Old State House Schedule Monday-Friday:10 am to 4 pm Museum Shop specializing in Connecticut-made crafts, gifts, gourmet foods and souvenirs. Center for Visitors and Tourist Information Special Events and Exhibitions Built in 1797, the Old State House is Hartford's oldest public building.Yet it is not the first structure on that site. Colonists built meeting houses on or near the spot starting from the arrival of Thomas Hooker's party in 1636. (Corbis photo.) Sculptress Frances Wadsworth studied the features of Hooker's decendants to come up with the likeness of Hooker as no known portrait of this founder of Hartford exists. click on image for larger view The text on the four sides of the pedestal (not shown here), from the 1986 Register of the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford, Inc., reads:THOMAS HOOKER 1586 - 1647 Founder of Hartford Pastor - Statesman "The foundation of authority is laid firstly in the Free Consent of the People." "The choice of public magistrates, belongs unto the people, by God's own allowance. And it is in their power, also, to set the bounds and limitations of the power and place, unto which they call them." Leading his people through the wilderness, he founded Hartford, in June 1636. Two years later he preached the historic sermon, which inspired the Fundamental Orders, and sowed the seeds of free Constitutional govenment in America. "As God has given us Liberty, let us take it." To the People of Hartford from the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford, October 1950. ”Thomas Hooker was born in Leicestershire around 1586. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and became Rector of Esher in Surrey in 1620. In the will of Thomas Williarnson, a churchwarden of Chelmsford Parish Church (now the Cathedral), money was left to finance monthly sermons, to be preached in the town, six shillings (30p) to be paid for each. These sermons were very popular and were held on the first Friday of each month, which was market day. In 1623, Alice Bird a widow of Chelmsford, gave to buy ‘a fair new pulpit to be set in a fit place in the church.... where people may hear God's word'’. Thomas Hooker was appointed Town Lecturer of Chelmsford, 'a good bigge town', in 1625. He was a popular and powerful preacher and seemed to get on well with the Rector, John Michaelson. However, Laud, Bishop of London, in whose diocese Chelmsford then was, did not approve of his outspoken views. He placed the greatest emphasis on ceremonies in church: the communion table, not the pulpit, was to be the central feature. On the other hand, Hooker and his friends claimed the right to preach the word of God, as set forth in Holy Scripture, according to their consciences. By 1628, Bishop Laud was determined to silence Hooker, who faced charges in the church courts. In 1630, he fled to Cuckoos Farmhouse in the small nearby village of Little Baddow, where he founded a school to teach young ministers. In 1632 he was persuaded by his friends to flee with his family to Holland. The following year, he set sail to Boston. The family settled in New Town, which later became Cambridge, Massachusetts, but two years later he led a group of people a hundred miles into the Connecticut river valley where they established a new colony at Hartford and Hooker established his first church. He died at Hartford Connecticut, in 1647”-- Chelmsford Cathedral History

The Ancient Burying Ground of Hartford, Connecticut History: Used for burials from 1640- early 1800s. Originally much larger. “Since gravestones were expensive, the vast majority of people interred in the Ancient Burying Ground - perhaps as many as 90 per cent - never had one to mark their final resting place. In 1835 there were 563 stones in the Ancient Burying Ground; by 1877, 526 stones were left. Today, approximately 415 stones still stand. ”abg_email@snet.net Notable Graves Gravestone Art Center Church: “Center Church is home to the First Church of Christ in Hartford, founded in 1632 in Newtown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts. The Reverend Thomas Hooker, the congregation's first minister, and his followers subsequently settled in Hartford in 1636. The congregation's first and second meeting houses were located near where the Old State House stands today. In 1737 the Society was granted permission to erect a new meeting house on a corner of the Ancient Burying Ground. In 1807 that structure was razed and the current church constructed. ” African-American Monument/Memorial “The first Hartford Black of which we are aware is Louis Berbice from Dutch Guiana. He was brought here in 1638 by his master, the Commissionary Gysbert Opdyck, to the Dutch fort in a neighborhood that was to be known as Dutch Point. For some reason, Louis was killed the following year by Opdyck. ---Objects in the Dark, 1638-1775;The Meaning of Slavery ....In 1690, the Colonial General Assembly passed a law that forbade any "negro or mulatto servants/slaves to wander out of towne bounds without a pass from master/mistress." Such a law hints that slaves were indeed roaming about on their own, perhaps with escape in mind.” -- Objects in the Dark, 1638-1775;Sons and Daughters of Africa. Probate record of Philip Moore, a free black who owned land in East Hartford.

Historic Marker (1971), located at main entrance to the Ancient Burying Ground.

Content from Images of Historical Hartford By StephenM. Lawson

Lawson has assembled links for Family Narratives at Kinnexionsfor persons with linked names.

Image scanned from The Colonial History of Hartford - U.S. Bicentennial Edition, by William DeLoss Love (1974).

Center Church 675 Main St. Hartford, CT 06103-2704 Phone: 860/249-5631 Free. By appointment.

Founders Monument (1986), located in the Ancient Burying Ground, also known as the Center Church Cemetery. Peter Grant, past Governor of the SDFH, wrote in the 1986 Register that: "The Ancient Burying Ground Association determined that it was impossible to restore the 1837 monument. A replacement monument, carved from beautiful, durable Connecticut granite, was dedicated on August 6, 1986. While the new monument retains the size and proportions of the original, the Founders' names are now listed in alphabetical order. Several names, omitted from the 1837 monument, are now included."

Names Inscribed on the Founders Monument of Hartford

(as listed in the SDFH 1987 Annual Report)

Adventurers' Boulder plaque (1935), located at corner of Main and Arch Streets.

Image scanned from The Colonial History of Hartford - U.S. Bicentennial Edition, by William DeLoss Love (1974). Ignore the star Yahoo placed on the map and look for corner of Arch and Main

Text

In memory of the courageous Adventurers who inspired and directed by Thomas Hooker journeyed through the wilderness from Newton (Cambridge) in the Massachusetts Bay to Suckiaug (Hartford) - October, 1635

Map courtesy of The Lord Family Main Street in 1855. Oldest known photo of Hartford

William Cornwell

“In 1639, when the land records of Hartford begin, William Cornwall had a house lot of eight acres in the village, "no. 54, west of South Street, south from the Lane," which corresponds to a location near the north end of the present Village Street. One half of his house lot lay in the "Souldier's Field," a choice tract which was divided among the veterans of the Pequot War..... In 1650 or 1651, he removed with the first settlers to Middletown, fifteen miles below Hartford on the Connecticut River. The”-- Line of Descent of George Roger Gilbert

• August the First, 1639: “ These following were censured & fined for unseasonable and imoderate drinking att the pinnace. Thomas Cornewell, 30s.John Latimer, 15s.; Mathew Beckwith,10s. Samuell Kittwell,10s.; Thomas Upson, 20s.”
• 1644:“In the ac. of Mathew Allen pl. agt Wm Lewis Dfent, the Jury find for the pl. that the deft is to pay rent according to his bargen wth Will’ Cornewell, as he was to pay, for the proportion of land he hlds, for the terme of three yeres & a halfe paste, and 20s. 4d.costs”
• 1649: Thomas Osmore v Wilam Cornewell
• 1675:”This Court freed Sarjt William Cornwell his head from paying of rates.”

William Cornwell’s son John m. Martha Peck, dau. of Paul Peck. Thier dau. Hannah Cornwall (1677-1736 b. Middletown, Conn. m. Daniel Doolittle, in Wallingford. Their son, Daniel Doolittle (1707-1791) m. Elizabeth Dayton, and their dau. Elizabeth Doolittle (1745/9-1831) m. David Brooks (1744-1801) in 1773. Their daughter, Elizabeth Brooks (1777-1807), m. Samuel Peck in Cheshire, Conn. in 1801.

From "Line of Descent of George Roger Gilbert" THE PECK FAMILY DESCENDANTS OF DEACON PAUL PECK of Hartford Connecticut. DEACON PAUL PECK is supposed to have been born in Essex County, England, in 1608, and to have come to this country in the ship "Defence," in 1635, and remained in Boston, Mass., or its vicinity, until 1636, and then removed to Hartford with the Rev. Thomas Hooker and his friends. His name is in the list of the proprietors of Hartford in 1639. From the records of the town, it appears that he became one of its leading men. His residence is said to have been upon what is now Washington Street, not far from Trinity college, the site of which being still known by aged persons as the "Peck lot." The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women: Volume IBlodgett, Daisy Albertine PeckEducational Workpage 328 BLODGETT, DAISY ALBERTINE PECK (Mrs. Delos A. Blodgett), wasborn in Greenville, Georgia, November 7, 1862. Her father, ProfessorWilliam Henry Peck, was in all his family lines of English Colonialdescent, his ancestors having held office in various towns inConnecticut and serving as military officers in the Colonial Wars andin the War of American Independence. He was the direct descendant ofDeacon Paul Peck (born in England in 1608), who came to Boston on theship Defense in 1635, and was one of the party of eighty-four who withthe Reverend Thomas Hooker, their pastor, settled in Hartford,Connecticut, in 1636. He was made proprietor "by courtesy of the town,"in 1639, his home lot being the present site of the State Library, onWashington Street, near the corner of Capitol Avenue.See Porter's Mapof Hartford in 1640, surveyed and drawn from the records in 1839.1 Fromthe records, he seems to have been one of the leading men of the town;held public offices to the end of his life, and was a deacon of theCongregational Church for many years. He died December 23, 1695, andwas buried in what is now the Centre Church burying-ground, where hisname appears on the shaft erected to the Founders of the city. Under date of 23 Mar 1666, the 2nd Gov. John Winthrop, a practicing physician, made the following entry in his medical journal. Peck, Martha: 45 y. wife of Paul of H worms & pain in back & other sickness which thinks is wind 2 dos 5 g N. J. & ig to take after. She is sister of Sam: Hale of Wethersfield, & hath a brother Thomas: Hale at Charlestown, Sent word it wrought well but very sick before it wrought. Again Mar: 28th 9 gr: $: wrought only down. In November 1667. Winthrop treated some of the Peck children who were then recovering from measles. He entered them as "Paul Pecks Children at Hartford" & named them as "Martha 9 years ole." "Also his son of 16 years: & also Hanna Peck his daughter 2 years."-- The Genealogy of Walter Gibert I regret to have found so little interest felt in relation to him, or in my endeavors to trace out and give a history of his descendants. A very few have offered their assistance; many have refuse to answer my letters, or give the information asked of them. He was Deacon of the Congregationalist Church from 1681 until his decease, December 23, 1695. His will is upon the Porbate Records, B. 5, pp. 217-18-19, dated June 25, 1695, and proved January 15, 1695-6. It is quite lengthy, and is of interest in its details and descriptions of his porperty. His inventory amounted to £ 536 and 5s. He makes bequests to his wife Martha, sons Paul and Joseph; his daughters Martha Cornwell, Mary Andrew, Sarah Clark and Elizabeth How; his grandsons Paul and Samuel; his son-in-law John Shepherd. He also names his granddaughter Ruth Beach, and son-in-law Joseph Bonton, to whom Samuel was required to pay legacies. Children: (1) Paul, b. in 1639; (2) Martha, b. in 1641, m. John Cornwell, June 8, 1665, of Middletown, where she died March 1, 1708-9. (3) Elizabeth, b. in 1643, m. ____ How, of Wallingford; (4) John b. Dec. 22, 1645; (5) Samuel, b. in 1647 (6) Joseph, bap. Dec. 22, 1650; (7) Sarah, b. in 1653, m. Thomas Clark of Hartford; (8) Hannah, b. in 1656, m. John Shepherd, of Hartford, May 12, 1680; (9) Mary, b. in 1662, m. John Andrew, of Hartford, and d. in 1752

Ahnentafel List

3390 Deacon Paul Peck - born 1608 in Essex Co., England. Came to America in the ship ÒDefenceÓ, in 1635 and remained in Boston, Ma. until 1636. He married Martha Hale, dau. of Thomas Hale and Joan Kirby. In 1636 or shortly thereafter he moved to Hartford, Ct. with the Rev. Thomas Hooker and his friends. He was Deacon of the Congregationalist Church from 1681 until his death, December 23, 1695.

3391 Martha Hale -

Children: (Peck)

Paul - b. 1639

Martha - (#1645)

Elizabeth - b. 1643; m. ____ How, of Wallingford.

John - b. 12/22/1645

Samuel - b. 1647

Joseph - bapt. 12/22/1650

Sarah - b. 1653; m. Thomas Clark of Hartford, Ct.

Hannah - b. 1656; m. John Shepherd, of Hartford, 5/12/1680

Mary - b. 1662; m. John Andrew, of Hartford; d. 1752.

1694. John Cornwall - b. 4/?/1640 in Hartford, Ct., son of William Cornwall and Mary ____. He married 6/8/1665, Martha Peck, dau. of Deacon Paul Peck and Hannah ___ , of Hartford. He lived in Middletown, Ct. where his house stood next to hif fatherÕs, near the corner of the present Main and Washington streets. He was a Sergeant in the militia. He died 11/2/1707.

1695. Martha Peck - b. 1641 in Hartford, Ct. She died 3/1/1708 in Middletown, Ct.

Children: (Cornwall/Cornwell)

1. Mary - (#847)

2. Martha - b. 8/30/1669; m. 3/31/1692, Richard Hubbard of Middletown, Ct.

3. John - b. 8/13/1671

4. William - b. 8/17/1673

5. Paul - b. 6/6/1675

6. Hannah - b. 9/5/1677; d. 1/16/1736; m. Daniel Doolittle, brother of sister MaryÕs husband, Samuel Doolittle.

7. Capt. Joseph - b. 10/5/1679

8. Thankful - b. 3/1/1682; died young

9. Thankful - b. 7/26/1685; d. 6/1/1758; m. 7/6/1710, Jonathan Sleed of Middletown, Ct.

10. Benjamin - b. 12 23/ 1688.

The Lord Family

References:

http://home.att.net/~p_lord/lordarms11.html

On the 29th of April 1635 were registered for transportation from the port of London to New England, in the ship "Elizabeth and Ann," of which Capt. Robert Cooper was master, Thomas Lord, aged fifty; his wife Dorothy, aged forty-six; and their children Thomas, aged sixteen; Ann, aged fourteen; William, aged twelve; John, aged ten; Robert, aged nine; Aymie; aged six; and Dorothy, aged four. --Hotten's Original Lists

There is some debate over the true ages of the children of Thomas and Dorothy Lord as recorded in the register of the ship "Elizabeth and Ann." One hundred years ago no writer had yet discovered any other documentary source for these data, nor the true origins of the Lord family that stepped off the ship in Boston in 1635. It is now clear that this family embarked from London after departing their home in the tiny village of Towcester [pronounced "toe-stir"], County of Northampton, about 60 miles northwest of the city. It is instructive to see a summary of the birthdates for the Lord children suggested by various sources.

The Towcester registers do record, however, that Richard Lord married "Joane" [last name not given], in that village in 1582. According to these records, this same "Joan," wife of "Richard Lorde," was buried at Towcester on September 22nd, 1610. Her husband, "Richard Lorde, yeoman" died and was buried less than a month later, October 16th, 1610. Earlier that year - on May 30th, 1610 - "Richard Lorde of Towcester, co. Northampton, husbandman" wrote his last Will. He expressed a desire to be buried in the churchyard in the village, and mentioned his daughter "Elizabeth," his wife "Joane," and his son "Thomas." This proves he is the same Richard Lord who is father to Thomas Lord, later of Connecticut, who just over four months later, married Dorothy Bird, whose seal we have been examining in Hartford. (Husbandman - one that plows and cultivates land. Brit. a rural laborer. Yeoman - one belonging to a class of English freeholders ranking below the gentry and formerly qualified by owning property worth 40 shillings a year to enjoy certain legal privileges.- a member of the first or most respected class of common people; one of the highest class not entitled to heraldic arms. ) Will of Richard Lord of Towchester, 1610

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MATTABESIC HISTORY© | Suckiaug Tribe (included the Hockinums living on the east side of the Connecticut) | Historical Society of East Hartford | Old Hartford Photographs | Turn of century Hartford postcards | ConneCT Photos By Region: Greater Hartford\ Hartford Historical, Cultural and Genealogical Resources\ A miscelany of Historic Hartford\ Hartford History FAQs\ Old State House| Old Statehouse Yahoo Travel| Ancient Burying GroundHartford Landmarks| Paul Peck|

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Driving Directions

Start at 60 MAIN ST, FARMINGTON going towards MOUNTAIN RD - go 0.3 mi Continue on a local road - go < 0.1 mi Turn on FARMINGTON AVE - go 0.9 mi Take I-84 EAST towards HARTFORD - go 1.0 mi Take I-84 EAST towards HARTFORD - go 6.8 mi Take the ASYLUM STREET/CAPITOL AVENUE/48A/48B exit - go 0.1 mi Continue on ramp - go < 0.1 mi Continue towards CAPITOL AVENUE, exit #48B - go 0.2 mi Continue on ramp - go 0.1 mi Turn on CAPITOL AVE - go 0.1 mi Turn on HUNGERFORD ST - go < 0.1 mi Arrive at the center of HARTFORD, CT

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