New London County Connecticut Genealogy and History
Founded: 1646 by John Winthrop, Jr.
Named for: London, England
County Seat: New London, Connecticut (before 1960), none (since 1960)
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New London County, Connecticut genealogy and family history page is a place where you can come in and research your genealogy and family history. We also do our best to provide a history of the area, to provide you with an overview of the time in which your ancestors lived.
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Early History of New London County, Connecticut
Southeastern New England was dominated by the powerful Pequot people at the time of English encounter; they spoke the Mohegan-Pequot language and were one of the Algonquian-speaking tribes in the coastal areas. After years of conflict, the English and their Indian allies killed many and disrupted the Pequot in the Pequot War of 1637, ending their dominance. Two descendant Pequot tribes are recognized by the state today, as are three other tribes, all descended from Algonquian peoples.
New London County was one of four original counties in Connecticut that were established on May 10, 1666, by an act of the Connecticut General Court.
As established in 1666, New London County consisted of the towns of Stonington, Norwich, New London, and Saybrook. The "Homonoscet Plantation" referred to in the constituting Act was settled in March 1663, at first as Kenilworth but incorporated as the town of Killingworth in 1667. Several new towns were incorporated and added to New London over the next few decades: Preston in 1687, Colchester in 1699, and Lebanon in 1700. The settlements along the Quinebaug Valley were placed under New London jurisdiction in 1697 (later incorporated as Plainfield in 1699). By 1717, more towns were established in northeastern Connecticut (between the Quinebaug Valley and the Rhode Island border) and added to New London County.
Windham County was constituted from Hartford and New London counties on 12 May 1726, consisting of towns in northeastern Connecticut. New London County lost the towns of Voluntown, Pomfret, Killingly, Canterbury, Plainfield, and Lebanon to the newly formed county. In 1785, Middlesex County was constituted, consisting of towns along the lower Connecticut River Valley, taking away the towns of Killingworth and Saybrook from New London County. Several additional boundary adjustments took place in the 19th century: the establishment of the town of Marlborough in 1803, the transfer of the town of Lebanon from Windham County in 1824, and the transfer of the town of Voluntown from Windham County in 1881.
New London County Genealogy Records
- Biographies
- Cemetery Records
- Census Records
- Church Records
- Cities & Towns
- County Records
- Family Bibles
- History Topics
- Marriage Records
- Military Records
- Miscellaneous Data
- Newspapers
- Obituaries
- School Records
- Vital Records
- Wills/Probate Records
Genealogy Research in New London County Connecticut
Connecticut Counties do not have a county government, the government is at the town level.
Town Clerks have birth, marriage, death and land records
Clerk of the Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1800
Probate Court has probate records.
Adjacent counties
- Windham County (north)
- Kent County, Rhode Island (northeast)
- Washington County, Rhode Island (east)
- Middlesex County (west)
- Tolland County (northwest)
- Hartford County (northwest)
- Suffolk County, New York (south)