The Families of Ancient New Haven, by Donald Lines Jacobus, contains a thoughtful collection of service records that includes many of the men who were members of the Society of Amity in what is now the towns of Woodbridge and Bethany. Let’s take a look at one interesting example… Captain Benedict Arnold’s 2nd Company of the Governor’s Foot Guards on…
Category: Genealogy
The Beecher Family in America… and Woodbridge
What do we know about the origins of the Beecher family in America, and how do the Beechers who lived in long ago days here in Woodbridge connect to the more famous members of this family? The noted Presbyterian minister and social reformer Lyman Beecher (born 1775 in New Haven, CT and died 1863 in Brooklyn, NY) is buried in…
A Civil War Story: Correspondence Between a Woodbridge Father & Son
Town Records of Woodbidge, Connecticut Civil War correspondence from the Ralph Chester Smith family papers (donated by Ann Electa Smith Cassidy) Letter to son Isaac Bradley from Jason Wyllis Bradley (the reply written in pencil on the same sheet of paper from son to J.W. Bradley ) Metropolitan Hotel Washington city December 25, 1862 I came here expecting to come…
History of town government in Woodbridge
The governance of the Town of Woodbridge from its inception is recounted in a “History of New Haven” published in 1892 as follows: “The first town meeting was held February 17th, 1784, when the following principal officers were chosen: Selectmen Captain Ezra Sperry, Jacob Hotchkiss, John Dibble, Esq., Captain Samuel Osborne; Clerk Amos Perkins; Collector Reuben Beecher; Listers Amos Thomas,…
Tracking down some Hotchkiss and Clark kinfolk in Woodbridge
Every so often the Amity & Woodbridge Historical Society receives an inquiry by email from someone trying to trace their family tree through the forest of old-timers here in Woodbridge. Lately I’ve been able to help out — and have some fun in the process. So I thought, why not step through a good example here of the phenomenon I…
A visit to Sperry Park, June 2015
What a lovely day to visit Sperry Park today. Before setting out, I’m rummaging around for some background information. Let’s start by gathering some old photos, shall we? First we have the photo “Bridge near Sperry’s Mills. Circa 1890.” as published in the Woodbridge Bicentennial Booklet. Under the photo the following text appears: “Handsome gifts have been made to Woodbridge. Sperry…
Indeed, there are Deeds!
Now that we’ve returned from our Visit to Sperry Park, let’s look now at some documents! The land that makes up both Sperry Park and the adjoining Henry C. Hickox Memorial Park was donated to the Town of Woodbridge in 1907 and 1955, respectively. Just prior to the donation of the Hickox parcel, a map was drawn up from information apparently…
Ancient Families of Woodbridge
The first European settlers began to live in Woodbridge in the mid-1600s Among the first families to arrive were: Sperry – Richard Sperry begins to live on the land known then as Sperry’s Farm (now Woodbridge) working as a “gardener” (another term for farmer at the time) on land purchased prior to May 1648 by Stephen Goodyear, First Deputy Governor of…