News – Page 8 – New London County Historical Society

Lisbon Earthquake 1755

Posted on March 22, 2011April 26, 2019 by stevemanuel

[December 1755] Saturd 27. A Snowy day. I went into Town to see the Boston News Paper, which gives an account of the Terrable Efffects of a Great Earthquake in Spain & Portugail. The famous City of Lisbourn Destroyed. Ye Houes all Shaked down but 3. & Thousands of Pple killed. The fire on the hearths burnt all ye houses & Rubbish. & Some places Swallowed up &c.

Here in 2011 we have all been horrified and transfixed by the pictures and videos of the “great earthquake” and Tsunami in Japan that also killed thousands and swallowed up whole towns. Back in 1755 this kind of terrible news was not immediate, and not visual of course, but it still had the power to shake those far away who read about it, and Joshua, always a news hound, made a point of heading to town to get his news about the tragic earthquake in Lisbon, which destroyed the city by shaking, flooding and fire – very similar to the situation in the towns and cities along the coast of northeastern Japan. Knowing as we do, the difficulties facing the population of Japan in 2011, we can only imagine the chaos and the fear of those affected in 1755.

The University of California Berkeley’s Earthquake Information Center has a short article on the event that includes this information: “The earthquake began at 9:30 on November 1st, 1755, and was centered in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 km WSW of Cape St. Vincent. The total duration of shaking lasted ten minutes and was comprised of three distinct jolts. Effects from the earthquake were far reaching. The worst damage occurred in the south-west of Portugal. Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, was the largest and the most important of the cities damaged. Severe shaking was felt in North Africa and there was heavy loss of life in Fez and Mequinez. Moderate damage was done in Algiers and in southwest Spain. Shaking was also felt in France, Switzerland, and Northern Italy. A devastating fire following the earthquake destroyed a large part of Lisbon, and a very strong tsunami caused heavy destruction along the coasts of Portugal, southwest Spain, and western Morocco.”

Joshua and his neighbors and fellow New Englanders were no stranger to local earthquakes as he notes several others in his journal, the earliest in 1727 on November 29. Of that event he wrote: “about 10 Clock at night an Earthquake Shook the houses Continued about 1 minute & half. ye Earthquake was Terrible in Boston Colony as here. An Irruption at Newbuy but a Rumbling noise & trembling of the earth & all things.” Several other smaller earthquakes are mentioned in later years and in each he refers back to the 1727 event, which clearly was memorable and mighty scary for our eighteenth-century New London record keeper. A very good account of this earthquake can be found on the website of the US Geological Survey – including information on the “irruption” at Newburyport, MA, where marshes rose up and dried up forever. This was perhaps an event much like the “liquefaction” that occurred in Christchurch, NZ, as a result of the earthquake there earlier this year.

Connecticut’s Jewish Farmers ~ February Second Sunday

Posted on February 1, 2011April 25, 2019 by stevemanuel

February’s Second Sunday program features Mary Donohue and Briann Greenfield, authors of a new book on Connecticut Jewish history. This book, the fourth in the Connecticut Jewish History Series from the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford, focuses on the lives of Jewish farmers in Connecticut and has been published by the Society with funding from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Co-edited by Mary M. Donohue, Architectural Historian with the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, and Briann G. Greenfield, Associate Professor of Public History at Central Connecticut State University, A Life of the Land: Connecticut’s Jewish Farmers begins historically with the migration of Eastern European Jews through America’s cities and then to the Connecticut countryside. Why Connecticut? How did these immigrants operate successful enterprises with little or no farming experience? Who and what helped support and sustain them? The story of the resilience and perseverance of these Jewish farmers and how they impacted their communities is told through historical data, oral history interviews and unique photo essays.

Copies of the book will be available for sale at $25.00, and Mary and Briann will be available to autograph. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

Date: Sunday 13, February

Location: Shaw Mansion, 11 Blinman Street, New London

Time: 4:00 pm

Free for members, $5 admission for others

NLCHS Announces History Day Scholarship

Posted on January 24, 2011April 25, 2019 by stevemanuel

The Board of Directors of the New London County Historical Society is pleased to announce that students from New London County who actively participate in the National History Day competition in Connecticut are now eligible for a $1,000 scholarship offered by the Society. The award will recognize the New London County student who advances furthest in the senior-level National History Day competition with a submission focused primarily on a topic of New London County history. National History Day Competition in Connecticut is supervised by the Connecticut Historical Society and will occur in phases during March, April and June 2011 at the District, State and National levels.

Please print the pdf announcement for information on eligibility, topics, criteria and registration.

Eligible Participants: You must be attending and in good standing at a public, private, or home high school in New London County (Grades 9, 10, 11 or 12).

Program Competition: You must actively participate in the 2011 National History Day Program competition, “Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences” in any of the following categories (documentary, paper or web site). In order to be eligible for this scholarship, your specific topic must focus primarily on persons or events that occurred in New London County.

Criteria of Scholarship Award: The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the New London County student (or students), who advances furthest in the National History Day Program competition as judged by the Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut’s Old State House in accordance with the rules of the competition. Participants must send a copy of any program materials they submit for the competition to the New London County Historical Society at info@newlondonhistory.org, which may post them on its website. (The New London County Historical Society will in its discretion determine if a topic is primarily focused on persons or events in New London County. If there is a tie among submissions, the scholarship award will be equally divided and awarded to the best two submissions which NLCHS in its discretion will select.)

Registration Deadline: February 8, 2011 is the deadline for registration. To enter the National History Day in Connecticut competition, students must register with the Connecticut Historical Society and pay a $5 registration fee. Registration instructions may be found on the website for the National History Day Program of the Connecticut Historical Society at ct.nhd.org. Participants must send a copy of their registration to the New London County Historical Society by email at info@newlondonhistory.org.

Rules, Submission Deadlines and Competition Dates: This information also can be found at ct.nhd.org.

Questions: If you desire to confirm your eligibility, including your school location or whether your topic is sufficiently connected to New London County, you may contact us at (860) 443-1209 or by email at info@newlondonhistory.org.

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.