Samuel Huntington (July 16, 1731 – January 5, 1796) Who was the man that some consider to be the first president of the United States? Samuel Huntington was born into a family of ten children. Three of his brothers were sent to study theology at Yale, but Samuel’s parents decided that his education would be […]
Prudence Crandall (1803-1890) has the distinction of establishing the first academy for African-American women in New England. Opening in April, 1833 in Canterbury, Connecticut, the school attracted young African-American women from across the Northeast due to Crandall’s dedication and her commitment to teaching a full curriculum. Almost immediately, Crandall began facing opposition to the school, […]
If the walls could talk, what tales the New London courthouse would spin. In 1815, a gala ball was held at the courthouse to celebrate the conclusion of the War of 1812 and the lifting of the blockade of New London harbor. Earlier, under dramatically different circumstances, a makeshift hospital was set up in the […]
Born in Franklin, Connecticut, on November 22, 1806, Lafayette Sabine Foster was a descendant of Miles Standish and the eldest son of Welthea Ladd Foster and Captain Daniel Foster, a veteran Continental Army officer. In 1828, after graduating with highest honors from Brown University, Lafayette took up the study of law and moved south to […]
While a single young woman, Katherine Harrison worked as a servant to Captain John Cullick of Hartford. She read a book about fortune telling by the British astrologer William Lilly, and she tried to predict the other servants’ fortunes for them. One of her predictions concerning whom one of the servants would marry came true; […]
In 1839, long before the Civil Rights movement of the 20th century, a group of kidnapped African natives bound for the Cuban slave trade revolted aboard their ship, La Amistad. While attempting to sail back to Africa, the men were captured off Long Island and taken to New Haven, Connecticut. What followed, beginning in Connecticut, […]
Ephraim Kirby (1757-1804) is best remembered for compiling the first volume of law reports published in the United States. However, Kirby was much more – farmer, soldier, attorney, state legislator, candidate for Governor, and Judge of Mississippi Territory, now known as Alabama. He served in the Connecticut legislature, and was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson […]
When does “finders keepers, losers weepers” not apply? In 1978, a case concerning a pre-Revolutionary statue of King George III found its way to the Connecticut Supreme Court. According to a 1973 New York Times article, back in 1776 a group of Whigs, upon attending a public reading of the newly signed Declaration of Independence, […]
April 16, 2021 From the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Judicial Branch has carefully and regularly monitored its workplaces and evaluated its operations to assure that judicial business is being conducted safely and in compliance with guidance from the Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As more […]
In celebration of Fair Housing Month, the Center’s education and outreach coordinator, Rashida Rattray, brought to life a presentation to honor the contributions of women of color in the fair housing and civil rights movements. Too often these stories are not told in our history books. Ms. Rattray explains “my pride in being a Black […]
