This small collection contains papers from members of three branches of the Trowbridge family of New Haven, Connecticut. Details of Trowbridge family genealogies may be found in The Trowbridge Family, by F.W. Chapman, published in 1872.
The papers in the first branch, that of Stephen Trowbridge (1748-1806), consist of twenty-two deeds and other legal and financial papers pertaining to land owned by Stephen Trowbridge and by his father, Stephen Trowbridge (1726-1796). It appears that these papers were collected by Dyer White of New Haven in his capacity as executor of the Trowbridge estate.
The second branch of the family is represented by F. Trowbridge, probably Francis Trowbridge (1809-1890), publisher of the New England Agricultural Almanac. His papers consist of a letter to C. Durand written in 1841, and a notebook of medicinal and household prescriptions, formulae, and so forth.
The third branch is represented by Thomas Rutherford Trowbridge, Jr. (1839-1898), whose scrapbook is included in this collection. The book contains invitations to public affairs in New Haven, New York, and elsewhere, memorabilia of various societies and of Trowbridge's public life, and several letters. Among these is one written by Rutherford B. Hayes (1879 May 30) and one by Grover Cleveland (1890 Oct 16).
The final item in the collection is the commission of Thomas Trowbridge as captain of the Light Infantry Company in the 17th Regiment of Militia in Connecticut, signed by Jonathan Trumbull (1807). Thomas Trowbridge's precise relation to the other Trowbridges in the collection is unclear.
These papers were give to Yale by various descendants of the Trowbridge family during the 1940s.