The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-12
OLD COURT RECORDS.

w ere 1dCkeu III Olu lFuHhS III dH Az
tic to be Eaten by Mice and Vermin-
Now In Fire-Proof Vault-Things
the Old Documents Show.
George A. Conant, the clerk, and j.
Lincoln Fem, the assistant clerk of the
Hartford county superior court, have
neglected to take their half holiday on
Saturday for weeks, They have de-
voted the time in arranging the ancient
law records of Hartford county, which
show much of the life and progress Of
the colonists from the time of 171S
down to the time Of the signing of the
Declaration of independence and sub
sequent to that time. One day recently
Mr.. Fem was looking about In the at
tc Of the county building and he saw
several old trunks filed with these
ancient records.
They had been put in the attic when
the court clerks Office was removed
from the old state house in this city,
now the City Hall, and the trunks and
records had remained there neglected
from that time until a few weeks ago
when the work of preserving the old
papers was begun. The clerks have
not yet completed the work, but the
records which have been arranged up
to this time have been placed in boxes
in, the vault. The work is by no
means pleasant. Many of the records
have been numbered, showing the
years they cover. and they have been
treated to a sprinkling of pennyroyal
to protect them from further rayages
by the moth and vermin.
In addition to the work undertaken
towards preserving the old records Mr..
Fem has made an important discovery
in his researches. It has been the
belief for many years and was so re-
ported to the Legislature of 1889 by
Judge Sherman W. Adams. that the
records of INDICTMENTS rendered in the
county court between 1774 and 1893
were not to be found. Mr.. Fem saws
that these records are all to be found.
Prior to 1774 the books show that there
was a form of Judgment written out on
the books by the clerk. This practise
was abandoned a good portion of the
time between 1774 and 1898. but the
records of the court show what the
judgments were in all the cases which
were disposed of during these years
and II is believed that the records sup
posed to have been lost are complete
with the clerk Int the form of iudg-
ment had not been written out.
The files from IT'S down to a short
| period before the signing of the Dec
| Iaration of independence show that the
legal business of the county was not
verv heavy. All the writs issued were
| addressed tn the nroper officer under
| His Maiesty's name. Immediately af-
ter the Declaration of Independence
was sienad the wr,ts were issued I'M
| dor the rifle Of the Government and
! COMMAND ana Colony Of Connecticut.
| i've reoords show that MANY highways
| 1yere 1aid ont for the few wears prior
70 177e and tha netitions for highways
in nortions of what is now Hartford
co1ntv and in the territory now COW
arad hy Titcbf,a,d windhan and New
| Tondon counties. then known as Hart
ford county orc nlain and can be read
witbout difficnltv,
ona ~ tha nat,tions dated December
3. IT'S. was signed by Daniel Andrus
ana his ne,rhbors OF Wethersfield.
Thav renresented that they lived In the
| eonthwest mart Of the town towards
I7orn,;roton They netitioned that a
bigbway he laid out so that they could
| o+tond tho Great Swamp Meeting
II,,,sa without having to mass through
Tho n,anv lanes and fences. which they
tad ~ - ,,ass through at the time of the
brin sing of the netition. in order to
a++and church In the early part of
~ 1.s+ century HEADINGS in court