stevemanuel – Page 9 – New London County Historical Society

Police Record Book 1854-1880 Donated to Historical Society

Posted on December 14, 2010April 25, 2019 by stevemanuel

The police record book listing every individual arrested for a crime in New London beginning in 1854 and continuing through 1880 has just been donated to the historical society. Essentially rescued from the trash as New London Police headquarters was in the process of being moved from its North Bank (formerly Bradley Street) location to its new building on Union Street (now the Stanton Building) in the 1950s, the book is simply an amazingly rich source of information.

There is an abundance of drunkenness, keeping a house of ill fame, visiting a house of ill fame, breach of the peace, and obtaining liquor under false pretenses; but in many respects it is surprising how quiet New London appears. The first page covers July, August and September of 1854 — there are only ten entries for all of August. But on that first page, two thefts were by boys, one nine years old, both of whom were sent to the State Reform School in Meriden for two years, their “term” and “place of imprisonment.”

There are a host of research projects that this one source can provide the data for. Although it’s doubtful we’ll ever know the difference between intoxication, drunkenness, common drunk, and intemperance (all of which appear ). And we can only imagine why Thomas Slate was arrested for stealing a sailboat in 1855. (His father’s portrait looks down upon us in the reading room.)

Konstanty Bucko joined the New London police force in 1939, retiring as a Detective Lieutenant in 1982. Mr. Bucko died in 2003 and his wife died just this year. His son William, cleaning out his parents’ house, recognized the value of this ledger and donated it to the historical society (for which we are very grateful).

War of 1812 Exhibit Planning Begins

Posted on December 14, 2010April 26, 2019 by stevemanuel

The Connecticut Humanities Council has announced the award of a $30,000 grant to fund the planning of a bicentennial exhibit on the War of 1812 and its effects on Connecticut and the region. Scheduled to open just after Independence Day weekend 2012 at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, the exhibit will feature items from the collections of the Stonington Historical Society, Mystic Seaport, the New London County Historical Society, the New London Maritime Society, and the Lyman Allyn.

“The Rockets’ Red Glare,” will focus on important local events including Commodore Stephen Decatur’s naval fleet taking refuge in the Thames River to avoid the British, the bombardment of Stonington, and the effects of the British blockade. “The exhibit will showcase our own Star – Spangled Banner,” says Meredith Brown, President of the Stonington Historical Society, who led the effort to get the five museums to collaborate on the exhibit. The Stonington Battle Flag and a coat worn by a Stonington defender wounded at the battle will be a couple of the objects that will be featured in the exhibit.

Operation Sail 2012 (OpSail) is scheduled to host a tall ships event in Boston harbor over the 4^th of July. They are currently in negotiation to follow up with a visit to New London for SailFest the next weekend. “It will be great if OpSail arrives in New London the week this exhibit opened!” stated Deborah Donovan, President of the New London County Historical Society. “Think of the opportunity to learn the history behind the fireworks.”

Developing an exhibit catalog with photographs and background information to accompany the exhibition is an integral part of this planning process. Historians Glenn Gordinier of Mystic Seaport and Nancy Steenburg of the University of Connecticut will provide some of that background. Published for the first time will be a manuscript written in 1828 by historian Frances Caulkins based on her interviews with survivors of the 1814 battle in Stonington. Author James Tertius de Kay, an expert on the US Navy during the War of 1812, will also be a contributor.

“Although most people know the national anthem, ‘The Star – Spangled Banner,’ I’m not sure that fifty percent could tell you it’s connected to the War of 1812,” stated Edward Baker, Executive Director of the New London County Historical Society. “Our plan is to create a major exhibit, combining our stories and collections in order to have a bigger impact. Hopefully we can change that percentage.” Baker will serve as the project director for the exhibit. Curator for the exhibit, guiding the process of choosing artifacts and stories will be Fred Calabretta, Mystic Seaport Curator.

The Connecticut Humanities Council grant to the New London County Historical Society will be used to pay for services from exhibit designers, photographers, a book designer and editor, plus consultants with expertise in historic textiles and lighting design. Work on the initial proposal for the exhibition began a year ago. With the approval of the grant funding, planning for both the exhibit and the book begin in earnest.

Captain Moses Rogers Gets His Due

Posted on November 1, 2010November 16, 2014 by stevemanuel

John Laurence Busch, author of the just-released book, Steam Coffin~Captain Moses Rogers and the Steamship Savannah Break the Barrier, will be the speaker at the 14 November, Second Sunday lecture for the New London County Historical Society. The presentation will be given at the event room of the Harbor Towers, 461 Bank Street, in New London.

New London native son Moses Rogers gained his lasting renown as the captain of the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, this work details how that amazing feat was achieved. Rogers was not only the captain, but the champion as well, of the idea that such a venture was even possible. National Maritime Day, recognizing the contributions of America’s merchant mariners, is declared by the President each year on 22 May, the anniversary of Rogers’s departure from Savannah, Georgia, on his voyage.

“The greatest obstacle to building an ocean-going steam vessel in 1818 was overcoming the predominant doubt as to how such a craft could prevail against the incalculable, unpredictable powers of Nature at sea.” Fulton’s first successful steamboat venture was created on the Hudson River only eleven years earlier. Building a craft with the strength to cross the ocean seemed foolhardy at best and wasting precious cargo space to store sufficient fuel for such a long voyage seemed folly. Wooden paddlewheels on the side of the ship, the only technology available at the time, made any such vessel vulnerable to heavy seas.

Rogers and his syndicate were able to face and overcome these difficulties and more. Rogers was the first to venture out of the safety of a river body with a steamboat and proved his abilities in Charleston and Savannah, Georgia. His partners were some of the first to try the new “corporate” business structure. And they found a buyer for the ship once it crossed the Atlantic.

Busch scoured archives and libraries from Savannah, Georgia, to Portland, Maine, in search of information for this 700 page volume. Some of his research was conducted at the New London County Historical Society and at Mystic Seaport.

This meeting of the Historical Society will be hosted by Anthony Silvestri, project manager of New London Harbour Towers, who remarked, “We are always looking for creative ways to collaborate with the community.” The program will begin at 3 PM; refreshments will be served. The program is free for members of the Historical Society and Harbor Tower residents; there is a $5 fee for others. Copies of the book are available for sale for $35 at the Shaw Mansion, and at the program.

For more information please call 860.443.1209 or email <edward at newlondonhistory.org>.

October Second Sunday ~ Search for the Northwest Passage with Anthony Brandt

Posted on October 1, 2010April 25, 2019 by stevemanuel

Search for the Northwest Passage with Anthony Brandt

Anthony Brandt, editor of the National Geographic Adventure series and author of The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage, will be the speaker at the 10 October, Second Sunday lecture for the New London County Historical Society. Brandt’s book, published earlier this year, is a spell-binding read of the 19th-century search for a Northwest Passage from Europe to the Pacific.

The search for the fabled Northwest Passage was primarily carried out by the British Navy in the period following the Napoleonic Wars at a time when they seemed to believe they were invincible. The discovery of an all-water route to the Pacific above Canada became a goal for nineteenth-century British explorers that was equivalent to the search for the Holy Grail. Today we know how futile that search was as the passage was non-existent because the waters north of Canada were essentially icebound all year long, at least at that time. That didn’t prevent a parade of British mariners from challenging the ice in that incredibly hostile environment.

This summer, a team of archaeologists from Parks Canada set out to find some of the explorers’ sunken ships. Almost miraculously, they found the 100 foot HMS Investigator fifteen minutes after they began using side-scanning sonar in the area where the ship was abandoned by explorer Robert McClure 155 years ago. Due to global warming the ice in the Arctic is receding; this summer, for the third time in the past four years, a Northwest Passage did exist. The search continues for Lord Franklin’s lost ships the Erebus and the Terror.

New London will always be connected to these stories through the rescue of the British navy ship HMS Resolute, discovered by Captain James Buddington and brought back to New London in 1855. It was the crew of the Resolute who saved McClure and his team in the Arctic. Although the Resolute too was abandoned in the Arctic, it floated free of the ice and drifted 1000 miles before it was found by Buddington in the Davis Straits.

You’ll meet all these people and these ships and more in Brandt’s presentation based on his book. In addition to several other books, Brandt has had a successful career in magazine journalism. He wrote for Esquire, American Heritage, The Atlantic, and many other magazines. A reception and book signing will follow his presentation. The program begins at 3pm at the Shaw Mansion, 11 Blinman Street, New London. It is free for members of the historical society; $5 admission is charged to those who are not members.

The Shaw Mansion, headquarters for Connecticut’s Navy during the American Revolution, has been the home of New London County Historical Society for over 100 years. Located at 11 Blinman Street, New London, it is near the intersection of Bank and Tilley Streets. For more information please call 860.443.1209 or go to www.newlondonhistory.org.

NLCHS Annual Meeting ~ 12 September

Posted on September 3, 2010April 26, 2019 by stevemanuel

The Debut of our New Classroom, plus:

Jane Perkins Revealed

Please join us for the 140th annual meeting of the New London County Historical Society which will be held at the Shaw Mansion Sunday 12 September beginning with an hors d’oeuvres and wine reception at 4 pm followed by the business meeting at 5:15.

Following the business meeting Jennifer Emerson and Penny Havard will share with members the process and the research that went into creating the “persona” of Miss Jane Perkins.

Let’s say that “someone” has an idea to create a new first-person interpretive program for a unique historic site, that will “bring to life” an actual individual who once lived at the historic site. How do you make the idea into reality? How do you construct a life from the past? How do you make your interpretation of that individual believable? How do you create the clothes that will evoke the past, and position this individual in a certain time and place with a particular social standing and point of view? How do you create a setting where this person from the past would have an opportunity to be in conversation with people from the present? Come find out.

The “Tea with Miss Perkins” program was recently featured at the Annual Conference of the Connecticut League of History Organizations. With the theme, “Bring on the Drama: Theater and Costumed Interpretation at Historic Sites,” more than 100 history practitioners were interested in finding out more.

Jennifer and Penny created two presentations for the conference that outlined the creation of Miss Perkins and the creation of the costuming for the production. For our annual meeting they will share their presentations with our members.

Starting from, “What do we really know about Jane Perkins?” Jennifer put in hours of research time — part detective, part playwright, part actor, Jennifer’s inspiration will be revealed.

Penny’s task was not so much mystery, but was daunting nonetheless; with her considerable knowledge of fashion from the period, how did she take what Jennifer found out, translate that information and create a dress and accessories that would help to tell the story? And a second dress for the maid … there’s a lot to this story.

Tickets $20 for members. Call today to make reservations: 860.443.1209.

Miss Perkins around 1864.

Jane and Ellinor 1876 [2010 really]