By Jason Mancini
Mr. Mancini is a Senior Researcher at MPMRC. This is the second part of a two-part series on the excavations and historical research of the Lake of Isles region near the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation. Click here to read Dr. Brian Jones article Recent Excavations at the Lake of Isles.
The archaeological excavations at Lake of Isles (LOI) have yielded some important information on Native, Euro- and Afro-American settlement and land use in interior southeastern Connecticut. This alone does not present a complete picture of the people who lived in this community. Who were the people that lived and worked here? How wealthy or poor were they? What did they buy or sell at the local shop? How did they organize the land? Why was this community eventually abandoned? In an effort to answer some of these questions, the Museum's research staff and consultants have been piecing together historical documents to develop an economic, social, political, religious, and environmental context for the community that existed at the Lake of Isles property from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries.
The earliest documentation for the creation of the lake at Lake of Isles is 1882, when the textile industry was thriving and three large downstream mills purchased water rights back to the source at LOI. To ensure a water supply throughout the year, a dam was erected to impound the brook flowing out of this former wetland basin and a shallow 90-acre reservoir was created.
By examining land records, we can identify property owners, describe property boundaries and provide a physical description of the landscape, often noting a stone wall, orchard, large tree, or stream. This information is being used to generate maps aimed at reconstructing changes in land holdings and land use. Land records are an essential link between the stone foundations found at the LOI archaeological sites and the people that made these sites their homes.
Once ownership is established, we can begin to develop profiles on these individuals and families by looking at many types of information. Vital statistics (birth, marriage, and death records), probate records, and U.S. Census data can provide insight on family size, relationships, occupations and non-family members living in the home. Census, tax, and probate records can be used to assess relative wealth based on land ownership, house size, condition and number of fireplaces, livestock, personal property and luxury items such as watches and clocks. Account books from local shops and mills detail economic activity, buying and selling of goods such as produce, meat, tableware, alcohol and clothing.
Census data recorded between 1790 and 1900 will provide a social and economic context for the people living at LOI. In particular, population and occupation trends are tracked in the towns surrounding the project area (including North Stonington, Ledyard, Preston, Groton, Stonington, Norwich, and New London). These trends can be tied to historical events that affected residents, including the Revolutionary War, development of Norwich as a mercantile center, movement to Connecticut's Western Reserve lands in Ohio, the Civil War, and the introduction of a railroad between Norwich and Westerly, Rhode Island.
Some of the more tantalizing questions surrounding the project deal with the non-white population that is living in the area. Who are these people? Why are they at LOI? What is the nature of their interaction with the surrounding white community? Our research indicates that many such individuals and families worked on the local farms and in one case owned a farm. These individuals appear to be of mixed racial ancestry (Native and Afro-American), and are commonly identified in census records as person of color, black, or mulatto. Despite these designations, several individuals living in or immediately adjacent to the LOI project area are known Mashantucket and/or Eastern Pequot tribal members who have immediate family members living on the respective reservations nearby.
Earlier records (ca. 1810) refer to an Indian indenture, while later references (ca. 1850) describe "laborer" or "farm laborer." Records indicate that these Pequots are young boys (ages 11 and 15) when they are living and working on these farms. This suggests a continuing and broad regional trend of exchanging (Indian) labor for (Euro/Anglo-American) education and religion. Other "people of color" at LOI have more ambiguous ties to the neighboring Pequot reservations, but are clearly participants in a broader network of minority interactions in the region.
Important historical documents are often found in private family collections, which are not as easily accessed (usually because they have been stored away in an attic for generations). Some of the North Stonington families we are looking for information on include: Avery, Bailey, Bentley, Hewitt, Killam, Main, Morgan, Park, Swan, Wilkinson, and Woodward. We welcome any information or leads that museum members and patrons can provide on these private collections. Please contact Jason Mancini at 860-396-6802.
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