Tomlinson family papers

The Tomlinson Family Papers, which focus on several Tomlinsons and related families from the Stratford, Connecticut area, are housed in one box (18 folders).

Folders 1-6 contain correspondence. The two chief correspondents are Gideon Tomlinson (1780-1854) and Albert DeForest. Tomlinson was a congressman 1819-1827, governor of Connecticut 1827-1831, and senator 1831-1837. The papers contain six letters by and to him, the most important being letters from Tomlinson to Nathan Smith (1770-1835) 1826 Apr 4 discussing a political appointment and from Ingoldsby W. Crawford (1786-1867) 1835 Feb 25 refuting charges of irregularity in the building of the New London customs house. The second major correspondent, Albert DeForest, served in the 14th Connecticut Volunteers during the Civil War from 1862-1865. DeForest was not well educated but served his regiment well, beginning as a private and ending a lieutenant. He writes to his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Philo Birdseye of Stratford. Included in the correspondence are four other letters, written by Diodate Silliman in 1782, Augustus Tomlinson and his son Mark Tomlinson in 1863, and by Charles A. Hatch in 1864.

The remaining papers primarily concern three generations of Tomlinsons. The chief figures are Gideon Tomlinson (-1765) of Stratford, grandfather of the Connecticut governor; Jabez Huntington Tomlinson (1760-1849), father of the governor; Captain Joseph Tomlinson (-1774), brother of Gideon; his son Curtiss Tomlinson; and Stephen Tomlinson (1791-), son of Curtiss. Several documents and a court case relate to fishing rights for Curtiss Tomlinson. The papers also include unidentified diaries for 1793, 1800, and 1805 by a Stratford region farmer.