Henry Dutton family papers

Collection

Call Number: MS 2094

Scope and Contents

A collection of letters of the family of Henry Dutton (1796-1869), Yale College 1818, 38th governor of Connecticut and Yale law professor (1847-1869). The letters of his only son, Henry Melzar Dutton (1838-1862), Yale College 1857 and Yale Law 1859, written while working as a lawyer in Litchfield, Connecticut, until April 1861 and then serving as a 1st Lieutenant with Company C of the 5th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers during the Civil War until his death on August 9, 1862, constitute the bulk of the collection. Also included are letters between other members of the Dutton family as well as related families; genealogical information; and short biographies of Henry Dutton, Eliza Eliot Dutton, and Henry Melzar Dutton.

All of the letters between Henry Melzar Dutton and his parents, as well as all of Eliza Eliot Dutton's correspondence in the collection have been transcribed by the donor.

Dates

1859-1890, 2018
Majority of material found within 1859-1890

Creator

Dutton family

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. Copyright to the biographical works on Henry Dutton, Eliza Eliot Dutton, and Lt. Henry Melzar Dutton is retained by Charles W. McLandress until January 1, 2060, or upon his death, whichever occurs first, after which all copyright he holds in the biographical sketches is transferred to Yale University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Charles W. McLandress, 2018.

Arrangement

The collection is organized by type of material.

Related Materials

Related material: George Dutton Watrous papers (MS 1065).

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.2094

Additional Description

Overview

A collection of letters of the family of Henry Dutton (1796-1869), Yale College 1818, 38th governor of Connecticut and Yale law professor (1847-1869). The letters of his only son, Henry Melzar Dutton (1838-1862), Yale College 1857 and Yale Law 1859, written while working as a lawyer in Litchfield, Connecticut, until April 1861 and then serving as a 1st Lieutenant with Company C of the 5th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers during the Civil War until his death on August 9, 1862, constitute the bulk of the collection. Also included are letters between other members of the Dutton family as well as related families; genealogical information; and short biographies of Henry Dutton, Eliza Eliot Dutton, and Henry Melzar Dutton. Transcriptions of most of the family letters were created by the donor.

Biographical / Historical

Henry Dutton was born on February 12, 1796 in Plymouth, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1818, and studied law under Roger M. Sherman (Yale College 1792). In 1847 Dutton was appointed as a Professor of Law at Yale College, which he held thorughout his lifetime. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives: 1828, 1834, 1838, 1839, and 1850; as well as the Connecticut Senate in 1849. In 1854, Dutton became the 38th Govenor of Connecticut. He died on April 26, 1869.

Elizabeth (Eliza) Eliot Joy Dutton was born in 1796, the daughter of Captain Melzar Joy and Anna Eliot. She married Henry Dutton on September 8, 1823 in Fairfield, Connecticut and they had four children: Mary, Anna, Harriet, and Henry. Eliza died on August 24, 1883 in New Haven, Connecticut.

Henry Melzar Dutton was born in 1838, the only son of Henry and Eliza Eliot Joy Dutton. He graduated from Yale College in 1857 and Yale Law 1859 before serving as a Lieutenant for the Fifth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Henry Melzar Dutton died during the U.S. Civil War on on August 9th, 1862.

Other family members and related individuals included in the collection: Mary Eliot Dutton Graves (1826-1865); Anna Dutton Graves Thrall (1854-1930); and Joseph Brainerd Thrall (1849-1935).