Connecticut:
The Connecticut region was inhabited by
the
Mohegan tribe prior to
European colonization. The first European explorer in Connecticut was the Dutch
explorer
Adriaen Block. After he
explored this region in 1614, Dutch fur traders sailed up the Connecticut River
(then known by the Dutch as Versche Rivier - " Fresh River") and built a fort at
Dutch Point near present-day Hartford, which they called "House of Hope" (Dutch:
Huis van Hoop).
John Winthrop, then of
Massachusetts, received permission to create a new colony at
Old Saybrook at the mouth
of the Connecticut River in 1635. This was the first of three distinct colonies
that later would be combined to make up Connecticut. Saybrook Colony was a
direct challenge to Dutch claims. The colony was not more than a small outpost
and never matured. In 1644, the Saybrook Colony merged itself into the
Connecticut Colony.
The first English settlers came in 1633
and settled at Windsor and then Wethersfield in 1634. However, the main body of
settlers came in one large group in 1636. The settlers were
Puritans from
Massachusetts, led by
Thomas Hooker. Hooker had
been prominent in England, and was a professor of theology at Cambridge. He was
also an important political writer, and made a significant contribution to
Constitutional theory. He broke with the political leadership in Massachusetts,
and, just as
Roger Williams created a
new polity in
Rhode Island, Hooker and
his cohort did the same and established the
Connecticut Colony at
Hartford in 1636. This was the second of the three colonies.
In the 1637-38 bloody
Pequot War the European
settlers and allies officially destroyed the
Pequot Indians.
The third colony was founded in
March of 1638.
New Haven Colony,
(originally known as the Quinnipiack Colony), was established by
John Davenport,
Theophilus Eaton and others
at New Haven. The New Haven Colony had its own Constitution, 'The Fundamental
Agreement of the New Haven Colony' which was signed on 4 June 1639.
Because the Dutch were outnumbered by the flood of English
settlers from Massachusetts, they left their fort in 1654.
Neither the establishment of the Connecticut Colony or the
Quinnipiack Colony were done with the sanction of British imperial authorities,
and were independent political entities. They naturally were presumptively
English, but in a legal sense, they were only secessionist outposts of
Massachusetts Bay. In 1662, Winthrop took advantage of this void in political
affairs, and obtained in England the charter by which the colonies of
Connecticut and Quinnipiack were united. Although Winthrop's charter favored the
Connecticut colony, New Haven remained a seat of government with Hartford, until
after the American Revolution.
Winthrop was very politically astute,
and secured the charter from the newly restored
Charles II; who granted the
most liberal political terms.
Historically important colonial settlements included:
-
Windsor (1633),
Wethersfield (1634),
Saybrook (1635),
Hartford (1636),
New Haven (1638),
Fairfield (1639),
Stratford (1639),
Stamford (1640),
New London (1646),
Middletown (1647)
Its first constitution, the "Fundamental
Orders", was adopted on January 14, 1639, while
its
current constitution, the
third for Connecticut, was adopted in 1965. Connecticut is the fifth of the
original thirteen states. The original constitutions influenced the US
Constitution as one of the leading authors was
Roger Sherman of New Haven.
The western boundaries of Connecticut have been subject
to change over time. According to The Hartford
Treaty with the
Dutch, signed on 1650-09-19,
but never ratified by the British, the western boundary of Connecticut ran north
from
Greenwich Bay for a
distance of 20 Miles[15][16]
"provided the said line come not within 10 miles (16 km) [16 km] of Hudson
River. This agreement was observed by both sides until war erupted between
England and
The Netherlands in 1652. No other limits were
specified. Conflict over uncertain colonial limits continued until the
Duke of York captured
New Netherland in 1664.
"... On the other hand, Connecticut's original Charter in 1662 granted it all
the land to the "South Sea", i.e. the Pacific Ocean. Most colonial royal
grants were for long east-west strips. Connecticut took its grant seriously, and
established a ninth county between the
Susquehanna and
Delaware Rivers, named
Westmoreland County. This
resulted in the brief
Pennamite Wars with
Pennsylvania.
Connecticut's lands also extended across
northern Ohio, called the
Western Reserve lands. The Western Reserve section was
settled largely by people from Connecticut, and they brought Connecticut place
names to Ohio. Agreements with Pennsylvania and New York extinguished the land
claims by Connecticut within its neighbors, and the Western Reserve lands were
relinquished to the federal government, which brought the state to its present
boundaries.
Join our Foster
DNA Group
to see if you are a genetic cousin sharing a common ancestor.
|
Research coordinator
Brad Foster
e-mail
Foster
DNA Group 7
Participant # 223
Colorado Springs,
Colorado
Descendants of
David Foster & Elizabeth Markham of Connecticut about 1700
Brad is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He
created a very successful business, Foster Electric Corporation, is a full
service electrical contractor, serving the Commercial, Industrial, and
Residential sectors, with Design/Build capabilities.
Brad's genealogy appears to follow the northern route of the
United States and is currently being researched in Connecticut beginning with
David Foster and Elizabeth Markham in about the early 1700's. Click here
for a look at a registry report
of descendants from David and Elizabeth Foster of Connecticut. See
Fenner Foster Revolutionary
War citation and
Erastus Foster's
grave marker (note wrong death date).
You can also see his genealogy as presently researched and
posted on these websites:
RootsWeb and
Familytreemaker. A special thanks to researcher Debbie
Kirkman for her excellent research and assistance in helping with this northern
Foster branch of our family. She is the researcher of Brad's registry
report and continues to send him additional information when time
permits. Bless her for her efforts!
We need some suggestions on where to
research on line for Foster names for including on this website.
|
Historical populations |
|
Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
|
1790 |
237,946 |
|
|
|
1800 |
251,002 |
|
5.5% |
|
1810 |
261,942 |
|
4.4% |
|
1820 |
275,248 |
|
5.1% |
|
1830 |
297,675 |
|
8.1% |
|
1840 |
309,978 |
|
4.1% |
|
1850 |
370,792 |
|
19.6% |
|
1860 |
460,147 |
|
24.1% |
|
1870 |
537,454 |
|
16.8% |
|
1880 |
622,700 |
|
15.9% |
|
1890 |
746,258 |
|
19.8% |
|
1900 |
908,420 |
|
21.7% |
|
1910 |
1,114,756 |
|
22.7% |
|
1920 |
1,380,631 |
|
23.9% |
|
1930 |
1,606,903 |
|
16.4% |
|
1940 |
1,709,242 |
|
6.4% |
|
1950 |
2,007,280 |
|
17.4% |
|
1960 |
2,535,234 |
|
26.3% |
|
1970 |
3,031,709 |
|
19.6% |
|
1980 |
3,107,576 |
|
2.5% |
|
1990 |
3,287,116 |
|
5.8% |
|
2000 |
3,405,565 |
|
3.6% |
| Est. 2006 |
3,504,809 |
|
2.9% |
|
