Vacation at the Bantam Lake House

Today, Litchfield County is considered the summer playground of the wealthy. Apparently the area of Bantam Lake served as a resort of sorts in the 1870s. Recently added to the collection is the guest book from the Bantam Lake House, 1875-1878. Many of the visitors were from Litchfield County, some were from New York State, and some came from Hartford. The most noteable visitors were Sitting Bull and Ulysses S. Grant, whose signatures grace these pages. More information on the Bantam Lake House would be welcome.

Hartford Orphan Asylum

It never fails to amaze me what materials still show up for sale. This week we purchased an indenture, dated June 7, 1854, for a child from the Hartford Orphan Asylum. George Bartow was “surrendered in writing by the father” to the Asylum and then bound out to Lucian Bidwell of Canton to learn the art, mystery, trade and occupation of farming until he turned twenty-one, in 1864. At the end of the indenture, George was to receive $100. That works out to $10.00 a year.

Little-known gems from the era of the Revolution

Although we have an “American Revolution Collection”, there are still many important documents found in other collections or by themselves. Here are a few examples. From February 25, 1780, we have an account of the State of Connecticut with Joshua Elderkin, Commissary for cloth sent to the Northern Army and to the Ship O. Cromwell, for refreshments to the marching troops, and for supplies in the Quartermaster’s department.

Many of our manuscripts enumerate the types of supplies the army needed. As late as 1782, Roger Tyler Jr. of Branford reported to the State Treasurer the articles of provisions, cloathing, &c taken in on the 2/6d tax, namely beef, pork, oats, white woolen cloth, white and brown linen cloth, and woolen stockings.

Eliphalet Thorp raised his own Company of men for the winter campaign and was reimbursed by the Pay-table Committee on December 31, 1776. David Silliman billed the state for carrying a warning to the Representatives of Redding, Danbury, New Fairfield and Newtown. The bill, dated February 15, 1781, included the cost of hiring a horse (40 miles at eight pence a mile), for two days of travel (at ten shillings a day), and for incidental expenses. The grand total was two pounds, thirteen shillings in state money. There was no federal or national money at that point. The state was also responsible for the cost of transporting [gun] powder for the use of Colonel Ward in 1776.

State printer Timothy Green submitted his bill in 1782. He published Assembly resolutions, advertisements, copies of laws, resolutions of the Governor and Council of Safety, and proclamations, along with the local New London newspaper. Undoubtedly, with some searching, we could find examples of his printing elsewhere in our collections. This is just one of many instances where the print collections and manuscripts complement each other.