Table of Contents

Collection Overview

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content

Restrictions

Subject Headings

Administrative Information

Contents:

Barthlolmew Family papers

Stiles Family papers

French Family papers

Other family papers

Town records, 1752-1856

Assorted records

Bartholomew Family papers

A Guide to the collection at the Connecticut Historical Society

Biographical Sketch

Jacob Bartholomew (1736-1805) married Sarah (Gridley) and after her death in 1801, he married Eunice (Cowles). He was the proprietor of Bartlemy Tavern and Store and was a tanner by trade. He held several positions in the founding of Bristol, Connecticut in 1785. He had five sons live to adulthood: Lemma (1764-1813), Jacob (1768-1843), Eli (1774-1801), Asa (1776-1864), and Gad (1783-1851), and was the administrator of his nephew Eziekiel Bartholomew’s estate. Lemma successfully ran the tavern and store after his father’s death. Jacob married and lived in Bristol, while running a general stove and tin business, later moving his family to Ohio. Eli was a merchant in Hartford, Connecticut and left his only daughter, Julia, to be raised alone by his wife. Julia was considered an heir to her grandfather’s estate since her father died early. Asa married Charity (Shelton) in 1801 and after a moving to New York to run another tavern, they returned to Bristol where he was a successful businessman. They had three sons: George Wells (1805-1897), Harry Shelton (1807-1827), and Asa (1815- ?).

George Wells married Angeline (Grandison) in 1829 and fathered eight children with her. After her death he married widow Julia Ann Cole (Marvin) in 1864, who brought her daughter Hettie Julia Cole, into the family. Only three of George and Angeline's children where still alive. A fourth child to reach adulthood, Jane Estelle Russell (1840-1862), died two year previously, but left him several grandchildren. He was a respected businessman and held various local government positions as well as being a justice of the peace. His sons, Harry Shelton (1832-1902) and George Wells Jr. (1848- ?) survived him. Harry Shelton and his father were in the manufacturing business together and Harry became the executor of his father’s estate. George Wells Jr. was born in Bristol and married his step-sister, Hettie Julia Cole. After moving his family to Austin, Texas, he authored the Record of the Bartholomew Family in 1885, from which most of this information has been gathered. A copy of this book is available in the Connecticut Historical Society’s Research Center.

Jacob Bartholomew’s (1736-1805) cousin Lemuel Bartholomew (1726-1801) purchased several pieces of land in Litchfield County, Connecticut, beginning in 1748. He moved his family to Skenesboro, New York around 1769. He fathered eight sons.

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Scope and Content

The bulk of this collection relates to the Bartholomew family, with additional material belonging to the Stiles and French families, and records of the towns of Bristol, Southbury and Woodbury. The town papers consist of items not readily attributed to a particular individual. The papers have been organized into series by family name, including a series for assorted families not related to the named families, and a series for town records. Within each folder, materials are arranged chronologically.

The largest section of papers is attributed to Lemma Bartholomew, but a closer look into the family shows that his cousin Lemuel has several decedents named Lemma and Lemuel. However, due to the information that he moved his family to New York in 1769, all of the papers are attributed to the two eldest men. Some items may indeed belong to these other family members, but they have yet to be discovered. Of note in the Bartholomew family papers is a 1799 liquor license allowing Lemma Bartholomew to sell spirits from the store in his house and an undated recipe for 40 gallons of Wintergreen Cordial. Also of note in connection to Lemma is a link to two men, George Stillman and Charles Morgan, who were active in shipping ventures throughout the West Indies. Most of these papers are of a legal nature, listing Stillman and Morgan as defendants, and can be found in their individual folders.

A few of the other interesting documents in this collection provide a look into colonial Connecticut. Several pieces in the Assorted Documents series direct payment from the colony treasury to John Lord, manager of the Hartford workhouse, and payment to individuals for keeping indigent women and children, 1765-1767.

The Stiles and French families resided in Litchfield County. The link between these families and the Bartholomew family is unknown, but may have something to do with Lemuel's land purchases in Litchfield County. Deeds and land surveys may be found in several individual’s folders. Of particular note is Benjamin and David Stiles’s account book, which contains a lesson plan for teaching methods of surveying in the 1700s. Additionally, there are several educational rants of human vices and letters home from Benjamin French while at Williams College until 1796. There is also a small notebook that an anonymous author filled with thoughts on many academic topics, such as Mathematics, Grammar, and Physics.

Within the Bristol folder of the Town Records series are records of the North District School, which list the student names and various statistics necessary to assess the tax owed by their families. Bristol also billed a Mr. Abel Lewis for his services for the 1809 Independence Ball.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Use Restrictions

Use of the material requires compliance with the Connecticut Historical Society's Research Center regulations.

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Subject Headings

Personal Names

Family Names

Subjects

Geographic Names

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Item, Collection Title, Collection number (Box #, Folder #). Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.

Processing Details

Collection was processed by Lacy Benson in 2009.

EAD Finding Aid created May 2012.

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