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Windham County Court Records
By Ursula B.G. Kilner, Salisbury
Often in climbing up the family tree—your own or someone else's—you find no land records that can steer you onto information that may be unavailable in census records. Even in the 1600s there were lawsuits, petitions and appointments to various offices in the county, but many of these records have been unavailable, having mysteriously disappeared. Marcella Houle Pasay has dug out these records for 1732-36 in Windham County, CT, which she has published as a Heritage book, Windham County Court Records 1732-1736. If you are seeking early Windham County residents, many are named in this book. Litigants from other Connecticut counties are also listed, so this book is worth a try even if you are seeking someone from elsewhere in Connecticut. And litigants from other states and countries can be found in these records, if they happened to have business in the Windham County court system during this period.
In order to see the fragile originals of these documents, one must call (a few days before one plans a visit) to the Connecticut State Library, as these records are now in the Historical and Genealogical Section Archives. The records are fragile after almost 300 years in the 151 archival boxes. Archival methods in earlier times were not as good as the methods we now use. All 151 boxes and contents need preservation work—but, of course, that takes funds.
This book is Volume 2 of Windham County records, and reports over 1,600 individual matters directed to the court. Many of the items listed in this Volume II are of debtors and their ways of settlement with the debt holders. There other items which, though the language is stiff to us, are of too-familiar content: "Timothy Ladd of Coventry; confessed himself guilty of fornication before marriage with his wife Esther: 10 Dec. 1734." In another account: "Eleoner Berry, single woman of Coventry, confessed herself guilty of fornication; 10 Dec. 1734." Yet another complaint was "D.D. Rex vs. Israel Fulsam of Windham; review of case of a tavern keeper selling strong drink to persons posted at tavern; not guilty; 10 Dec. 1734." These records show that after almost 300 years people haven't changed much; the language appears a bit different, but the people are just as human as those we know today—and they are engaging in many of the same "crimes."
In the book there is an index including every person, every official, every place and every occupation. Also, Marcella Pasay has gathered abstracts of Volume 1 (Windham County Court Records 1726-1732).
The book reviewed here may be ordered from: Heritage Books, Inc., 1540E Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie, MD 20716; or call 800-398-7709 and order this book or ask for a free catalog of Heritage Book offerings. There may well be a book in the catalog which will suit a need in your research of family or town. The price for the book reviewed is $22.50, plus $5 postage.
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