Table of Contents
Brainerd family papers
A Guide to the collection at the Connecticut Historical Society
Collection Overview |
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| Repository: | Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut |
| Creator : | Brainerd family. |
| Title : | Brainerd Family Papers |
| Dates : | 1750-1876 |
| Extent : | 0.50 linear feet (1 box) |
| Location: | Ms 98236 |
| Language: | English |
Biographical Sketch
George Smith Brainerd (1792-1872) was a farmer and quarryman living in Haddam, Connecticut. For the town of Haddam, he served as treasurer, constable, and justice of the peace. In the late 1840s and 1850s, he was a practicing attorney, taking only a few cases, doing mostly probate work.
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Scope and Content
The collection of more than 360 items includes the account book of George S. Smith; individual bills and receipts; correspondence; legal papers; and other material formerly in the possession of George S. Brainerd (GSB).
The account/day book (1839-1871) documents the building of Brainerd Academy, George S. Brainerd’s farm business (he made much of his money in renting out his animals and vehicles), and his legal business (clients included the Ecclesiastical Society of Haddam, the heirs of Calvin Thomas and Selden Brainerd, and the Pier Island Co.)
Individual papers of George S. Brainerd have been sorted, where possible, by his role (e.g. constable, JP, attorney). Brainerd’s papers are followed by items relating to immediate family: parents, uncles, wife and children. Of note is the divorce decree of GSB’s uncle Nehemiah, dated 1845.
Some of the items in the collection bear only a tenuous relationship to George S. Brainerd. Among these is a group of letters written by distant cousin Polly Brainerd of Enfield to her parents Mr. And Mrs. John Pierce of Millbury, Massachusetts. Within the Polly Brainerd correspondence is a single letter written by a Cemantha Horn to John Pierce detailing the last days and suicide of her husband. Attachments and summonses signed by other Haddam JPs are presumed to be GSB’s in his capacity as constable. The receipts of James Hazelton and one or more of the tax lists predate GSB and their connection to him remains a mystery.
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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
EAD Finding Aid created July 2012.
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Contents:
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Return to the Table of Contents Papers |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | GSB: Account book 1839-1871 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | GSB: Bills, receipts, accounts 1817-1876 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | GSB, constable: Papers 1817-1823 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | GSB, justice of the peace: Papers 1841-49, 1857-8 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | GSB and brothers: Deeds 1817-1869 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | GSB: Property insurance 1854-1871 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | GSB, attorney: Probate clients 1835-1853 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | GSB, attorney: Miscellaneous clients 1840s-1850s | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | GSB: Speech re Henry Clay (unsigned but in the hand of GSB), undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | GSB et al: Research notes undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Extended Family: Eliakim and Lucy Brainerd (parents of GSB) 1816, 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Extended Family: Nehemiah, John and Fisk Brainerd (uncles of GSB) 1807-1848 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Extended Family: Elizabeth Huntington Brainerd et al.(wife and children of GSB) 1876 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Extended Family: Polly Brainerd (Mrs. Jared Brainerd, nee Mary Pierce) (distant cousin of GSB) 1817-1827, 1847 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Other Brainerds | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Various Haddam JPs: Attachments, summonses 1816-1842 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | James Hazelton, Haddam Town Treasurer, et al: Receipts 1750-1789 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Haddam Tax lists | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Miscellaneous | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Fragments | |||||||||