Account books

Aaron Gaylord of Hartford, Conn. was a merchant and ship owner. The papers consist of correspondence, accounts and miscellaneous business papers relating to his local accounts and shipments on various vessels.

The Board of Capitol Commissioners oversaw construction of a new State Capitol building in Hartford.

The records of Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company document gun manufacturing at the armory and the company’s subsidiaries, together with outside contracting activities.

The General Assembly created the Commission in 1895 (Special Act 343) to be responsible for the construction of a new bridge over the Connecticut River to replace the wooden bridge that had burned in that year. The Commission maintained the bridge until the 1930s, when it turned its duties and title to the properties to the State and adjoining localities.

The Commission worked with other state and federal agencies to investigate and mitigate the effects of the existing serious unemployment and to encourage employers to gather statistics and information with a view to finding a solution to the problem.

The department’s mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting and regulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture, its cultural heritage and its contribution to the state's economy.

The United Spanish War Veterans was organized in 1904 by the amalgamation of a number of veterans organizations, including the National Army and Navy Spanish War Veterans, the National Association Spanish-American War Veterans, the Service Men of the Spanish War.

The Motor Vehicle Department was established by legislative act in 1917 to protect life and property by the administration of motor vehicle laws, to regulate, discipline, and educate motor vehicle operators, and to provide revenue through licensing for the construction and maintenance of state highways.

The Department of Social Services provides a broad range of services to the elderly, persons with disabilities, families, and individuals who need assistance in maintaining or achieving their full potential for self-direction, self-reliance and independent living.

The papers consist of materials pertaining to three generations of members of the Foote family of Marlborough, principally Asa Foote (1728-1806), his son Joel Foote (1763-1846), the children of Joel Foote and their spouses, and other relatives. Asa, a farmer by trade, and Joel Foote, a clothier and merchant, were both well to do and prominent political figures in Marlborough Society in Colchester and in the town of Marlborough.

John Gray & Co. appears to have operated a general store and cotton factory in Lisbon, Connecticut. The records consist of account books, a cashbook, daybooks, ledgers, letter books, check stubs, and time books.

The collection contains documents kept by Major Edward V. Preston, who was a quartermaster and then a paymaster in the United States Army during the Civil War. Included in the papers are muster rolls, officer pay vouchers, discharge papers, hospital notices, returns, receipts, requisitions, books, and personal papers.

The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States, Connecticut Commandery, was organized on February 13, 1896, to honor the names and deeds of military men and for related purposes

The Plainfield Historical Society was established in a meeting held January 8, 1916 in the Town Clerk’s Office, Central Village. Judge John E. Prior was chosen chairman. The date of its last meeting was November 10, 1917.

Roswell Grant was a Justice of the Peace and school district treasurer of Windsor, Conn. Also represented are his father, Ebenezer Grant (1706-1797), a merchant, and other family members.

The Tolland County Mutual Fire Insurance Company was chartered in 1828 with John Fitch as its first president. It ceased to exist in 1906 when, according to the Connecticut Insurance Commissioner’s Report, it transacted no business and all of its policies had expired.

Wedworth Wadsworth (1782-1860) was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly from Durham, Conn. Also represented in the collection are his sons Wedworth (1811-1876), William (circa 1817-1870), a town clerk and justice of the peace, James (1819-1891) and James' son Wedworth (1846-1926), who was a painter, art teacher, and writer.

Willis H. Birge was a farmer and a tobacco grower in Windsor Locks, Conn.