The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-12
OLD DOCUMENTS
PRESENTED TO SOCIETY RY
 JAMES TERRY.

Papers Relate to Soldiers in French
 and Indian War--Men at the Front
 Made Assignment of Wages-Papers
 Once the Property of West Hartford
 Family.
 The Connecticut Historical society has received a gift from James Terry, Of No. 7S Wethersfield avenue, Hartford, | consisting of about one hundred docu- k ments once the property of the Whiting family of West Hartford. Many of the papers date back to the time of Colonel Nathan Whiting, who served in the French and Indian war from 1755 to 1763.
 Among the papers," says the Hart lord Courant, "are a number of assign- ments of wages made by Connecticut soldiers in the French and Indian war. These include the names of several per- sons whose service in the war was not preyously known, and whose names do not appear in the printed muster rolls. All bear one or more autographs, ana the appearance of the documents indi- cate that the soldiers were better fight CTS than scholars. One assignment iA as follows:
 "Branford March the 2S A. D. 1762. "Cour. Whiting, sur. Please to ay Jude Luddngton the Sume Of two pounds Eighten shilings and Carge the Same to my Wages when Ever Due and you vii Ablig your frind as your to sery Thro the Campain,
 'STEPHEN WADE.w
 Besides the documents relating to the French and Indian war there are sew eral of later date, consisting of deeds. letters, petitions and other interestine papers. Several inhabitants of west Hartford petition the Hartford county court that certan land in Farmingtpn may be declared common land and the record shows a subpoena calling the petitioners into court to be heard on the matter.
 Harry Seymour, of West Hartford, writes a friend whose Christian mama was Elihu and who apparently lived in or near Northampton, Mass, the letter forming one of the documents in the collection. The handwriting indicates the writer to have been a young man and the subject that he was of seri- ous mind.
 One paragraph from the letter, which is dated at West Hartford, De- cemher f. 1799 Is as follows You say the intelligence I give you respect ing the progress of religion here gives you a great deal of. pleasure. But, O, my friend, if you were only here in the midst of it (if you prefer Jerusalem to your chief joy) you would Gas 1t wers) enjoy heaven on earth. I am sorry to hear that religion has become stran- ger to Northampton but here many arc joining themselves to the Lord in perpetual covenant
 Only one other document throws any light as to the degree of morality of West Hartford at that time. That is subscription list by which money was raised for the purchase of a bell for the church at West Hartford. It is not dated, but the gifts are reckoned in English money and such well known names as Whiting, Whitman and Flagg appear on it.
 In 1901 Elisha Hale of Glastonbury sent fifteen dollars to Samuel Whiting, then student at Bacon Academy Col~ chester, expressing the hope that thal sum would pay his expenses for the quarter. Being before the day of en- velopes the sheet was folded and sealed and bore this supersoription on the re- verse:
 Samuel Whiting, Student. Bacon Academy.
 Chartered with Mrs. Skinner near the Academy.
 The penny post is requested to hand ti.
 Colchester.
 One of the papers is map, or ''plot's as 1t is called, of the township of Cum berland showing that a grant of thir- teen thousand acres stood in Colonel Whiting's name. It is probable that the land was given to him for his ser vices in the French and Indian war. It is considered possible that the town- ship was Cumberland, Me.
 While all of the documents are inter- esting those relating to the French and Indian war are considered to be the most valuable"