Volunteer Profile: Betsy and Gordon Kenneson
In this column, we are featuring not one but TWO of the invaluable volunteers who supplement and complement the work of our paid staff in so many ways. Gordon is a docent and regular lecturer [...]
Founders’ Series: John Hoskins, Paper Trail vs. DNA
When John Hoskins sailed to the New World, he was a middle-aged family man. The paper trail that establishes his English background is shaky, but has recently been fleshed out using advancements in DNA technology. Hoskins’s story is of interest not only to descendants, but also to anyone whose family research might benefit from similar genetic study.
Founders’ Series: Frances Clark Dewey Phelps
Frances (unknown) (Clark) (Dewey) Phelps is one of the few women included on the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor’s founders list, which only includes heads of household. Women in Frances’s era rarely show up in official records, but their circumstances can be partially deduced from their husband’s and other contemporaneous records.
Volunteer Profile: Elaine Brophy
Elaine joined us in 1990 as a library assistant and later as the volunteer librarian, in charge of cataloging and ordering books, keeping the library in order, and coaching the many patrons who visit it.
The Filley Necrology
It is always a pleasure for a historian or genealogist to find documents that add color and dimension to the individuals and communities being studied and that fill in the gaps between the official records. The Filley Records are such a document.
Volunteer Profile: Sandy McGraw
Volunteer Sandy McGraw helping organize our Tunxis yearbook collection. Photo by Christina Vida. This profile is also a fond farewell as Sandy has recently retired from her volunteering duties here at the Society. [...]
A Look Back: The 1910 Census
The main purpose of collecting census data is to distribute congressional seats, electoral votes and appropriate funding. However, historians and genealogists have found census information to be of critical importance in researching a town’s or family’s history. Here's a look back to the 1910 census and some of the information we found about our town.
Poquonock Roots and Spiritual Wings: Missionary Traditions in the Marshall Family
Carrie Phelps Marshall Kendrick (1883-1963) was regarded as one of Poquonock's history keepers. Born on lands that had been farmed by her family for eight generations, I wondered what drew Carrie to Georgia where she married her husband Alexis Dawson Kendrick (1873-1931) in 1904 and began family life.
Merwin’s Wareroom: Satisfaction Guaranteed
The first funeral director in Windsor, James J, Merwin was known throughout the region for pioneering new methods and practices to advance his profession. Windsor Historical Society is fortunate to have three volumes of record books from the Merwin Funeral Home in its collection.
Founders’ Series: Margaret Barrett Huntington Stoughton
In continuing our Founders’ Series, we decided to examine the life of one of Windsor’s founding women. Studying women from this early period can be challenging, but Margaret Barrett Huntington Stoughton’s life, however, is surprisingly well-documented and full of quiet drama.