CCSU Historians

By Janet M. Conner, Historian, Avon Land Trust Romanta Woodruff was among Northington’s (early Avon in 1750) most affluent and notable citizens.  He achieved a high level of social and economic status. Several factors enabled Woodruff to prosper. He inherited a share of his father’s estate, married well, and engaged in trade.  He was a large landowner, with orchards of apples and butternut…

Gary O’Neil, Red Oak Middletown CT, 24 July 2024 – a group of independent community historians and academic scholars met at Russell Library to form a Wangunk Studies Working Group, a body of individuals working together to focus on research and scholarship about the Wangunk, the Native people indigenous to a large portion of central Connecticut. Founding convenor J. Kēhaulani Kauanui approached…

Connecticut Explored Names a New Publisher

Media Contact: Jennifer LaRue, 860-836-5391, [email protected] June 4, 2022: The Board of Connecticut Explored Inc. has announced the appointment of Dr. Katherine A. Hermes as the organization’s new Executive Director and Publisher. Hermes will assume the newly created role, which includes serving as the organization’s first formal Executive Director in addition to being its Publisher, on…

In Memoriam – David K. Leff (1955 – 2022)

Author: Janet Connor, Historian Laureate, Avon Land Trust ___ I met David Leff several years ago when he and his wife attended a presentation I was giving.  I had previously asked him if I could use some quotations from his writing in my talk.  He was very kind to say yes, and I was honored he took time from his busy life to attend.  Busy life is an understatement as David’s resume is nothing…

A Brief Bio of Peter Tusco, a “Spanish Indian” of Southington

AUTHOR: Katherine Hermes Peter Tusco died in Southington, Connecticut in 1767 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. His origins are not known, but in the probate records, he is identified as a Spanish Indian. He was probably an indigenous person from someplace in the Spanish territories, such as Florida. New England colonists considered Spanish Indians lawful captives under the presumption that…

A Research Note: The Epidemic of 1724

Broadside, Connecticut State Library. AUTHOR: KATHERINE HERMES On November 5, 1724, an epidemic broke out in Hartford, Connecticut, lasting until February 1, 1725. The sickness killed rich and poor alike. Among the 54 persons who died, it took 27 white men and 19 white women. It took 8 non-whites: two Native men named Peter, three unnamed Indians of unknown sex, and three men of African…

Farmington, Connecticut, and African American Periodicals

Phebe Janes lived in Farmington, the wife of Elijah Janes (1758-1823), married in 1791. She was the daughter of Fisher Gay (1735-1776) and Phebe Lewis (1735-1772). Elijah was the son of Elijah Janes (1725-1788) and Lucy Crocker (1732-17xx). She was admitted to the church on Oct. 22, 1837, from Lansingborough, NY. She died at the age of 83 on Jan. 8, 1850. (Connecticut, U.S., Church Record…

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African American Studies Program Carter G. Woodson Lecture Series

“According to the writing:” Richard Negro of Farmington

  Author: Lisa Johnson 

Richard Negro was a captive Black man who lived and worked in Farmington during the early years of the 18th century. Richard may have been typical of many enslaved people who resisted their captivities and actively worked for their own emancipation.  

Richard, also known as Dick, was owned by Thomas Hart and his son Josiah, both residents of the village of…