Windsor, Connecticut was one of the three towns that united to form the Colony of Connecticut in the 17th century. A great deal of data concerning Windsor's early inhabitants can be garnered from this work, which is based on records in the possession of the Connecticut Historical Society. By far the largest source transcribed for this publication is the Matthew Grant, or "Old Church," Record, 1639-1681. Comprising the first half of the volume, the Matthew Grant Record consists of several thousand births, marriages, and deaths for Windsor families throughout much of the 17th century. Though not an "official record" of the town, it nonetheless is one of the most important sources of Windsor "vital records" in existence. Various addenda to the Matthew Grant Record are appended to the back of the book. The balance of the volume is made up of a variety of records, each of which has the virtue of placing a particular colonist in Windsor during the 17th or early 18th century, namely: (1) Town Votes, which speak loudly on the methods of town governance and the persons who were assigned to carry out tasks; (2) Lists of Freemen, 1669, 1703; (3) Documents Relating to the Church Controversy of 1669-1679, which affected towns throughout Connecticut; and (4) A Ratable List of Persons and Estates, 1686, representing the second longest record in the volume and disclosing the real and personal property (with the assessed values) for each property owner in town.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Filleys: 350 Years of American Entrepreneurial Spirit provides snapshots into American entrepreneurship history for a broad readership through a series of biographic essays. These stories, centering on the accomplishments of one family, provide vivid insights into entrepreneurialism in America, spatially across the country and temporally over three centuries. Author Don Southerton guides the reader through multiple generations of the Filley family beginning in 17th century Puritan New England. The saga includes the rise of the Yankee trader, land speculation, and the development of American manufacturing. The Filley business endeavors represent a slice of the American entrepreneurial experience. Moreover, this experience was shared by many thousands of other Americans whose families can be traced to colonial times. Together, they raised families, embraced capitalism, and built this country. The portraits of people and events in this saga provide us with a revealing and instructive glimpse into times long gone, and allow us to connect vicariously to a part of our collective past.

Tracing the first three generations in Puritan New England, this book explores changes in language, gender expectations, and religious identities for men and women. The book argues that laypeople shaped gender conventions by challenging the ideas of ministers and rectifying more traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity. Although Puritan's emphasis on spiritual equality had the opportunity to radically alter gender roles, in daily practice laymen censured men and women differently – punishing men for public behavior that threatened the peace of their communities, and women for private sins that allegedly revealed their spiritual corruption. In order to retain their public masculine identity, men altered the original mission of Puritanism, infusing gender into the construction of religious ideas about public service, the creation of the individual, and the gendering of separate spheres. With these practices, Puritans transformed their 'errand into the wilderness' and the normative Puritan became female.