New Haven Town Records, 1769 - 1819

The New Haven Town Records, 1769 - 1819 is a fully annotated and indexed primary source transcription of the minutes of New Haven's Town Meetings over what is arguably the most significant half century of the city's long history. As Volume IV in the Ancient Record Series, this 470-page volume provides primary source accounts of the greater New Haven area, including New Haven, West Haven, East Haven, North Haven, Hamden, Bethany, Branford, and North Branford. Major subjects of the volume touch on the American Revolution, the importance of the fishing industry, the rise and fall of New Haven as a major seaport, the increasing importance and influence of Yale and its graduates, as well as a near monthly account of New Haven's remarkable transition from a secondary colonial outpost on the far reaches of the British Empire into a vibrant American city on the brink of the Industrial Revolution. A treasure trove for historians and genealogists alike, The New Haven Town Records includes thousands of names of New Haven residents and the public offices they held from the end of Seven Years War to the eve of President James Monroe's second term as U.S. President.