There is a large gap in the records of Coventry, CT. It is especially severe for the Second or North Society region spanning the period 1770 - 1802. This is documented by several sources given below. Hopefully this information will aid the many genealogists who have been searching endlessly for records of their ancestors who resided in this area. Researching alternative sources may be necessary. If a preponderance of evidence exists placing your ancestor in this region, citing the information below may be your only recourse to cover this gap in the records.
I R. Belknap*of the Town of Coventry in the County of Tolland State of Connecticut aged Forty Seven years do certify, depose and say that I hold the office of Town Clerk of said town & have held the same for Three years past. That I have thoroughly examined the Records of said town & can not find any entry of the marriage of Noah Fuller to Lucy Wilson thereon and I further testify & say that altho there were many marriages recorded about that time, I do not find on the town Books any entries of Marriages by the Rev. Mr. Strong a former Clergyman in said town - & I have made particular inquiry & ascertained that he preserved no record thereof either in his private or Parish Register that can now be found.
R. Belknap Town ClerkState of Connecticut
Tolland County s.s. Coventry June 8th AD 1846
There personally appeared the above named R Belknap to me well known & took & subscribed the foregoing Oath in due form before me.
Uriah Brigham Justice of peace[* R. Belknap is Ralzamon Belknap per Coventry vital records]
Dimock, Susan Whitney, Births, Marriages, Baptisms, & Deaths From the Records of the Town & Churches in Coventry, Connecticut 1711-1844, (Baker & Taylor Company, New York, 1897).
The Foreword of this book states:"The records of the first church, prior to the year 1766, have either been lost or destroyed."
"No records of the Second (North Parish) Church seem to have been kept until about 1800."
Susan Whitney Dimock, South Coventry, June 14, 1897.
This book, utilized by state and local officials, contains the following records:
- Town Records - Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1711-1840
Does not include all inhabitants during that time.- First Church - Baptisms 1778 - 1844, Marriages 1763 - 1843, Deaths 1763 - 1843.
- Second Church - Baptisms 1819 - 1843, Deaths 1801 - 1842.
Bailey, Frederic W., Early Connecticut Marriages As Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, (Bureau of American Ancestry, New Haven, CT, 1896-1906).
An insert at the front of this book titled Records Lost reads:"The following is a (revised) list of Congregational Churches so far reporting the loss of their records of Baptisms and Marriages prior to 1800"...within the list:
- "Coventry, Tolland County, organized 1745, none before 1818"
The Search for Alternate Records
Original Index to OLD Coventry Vital Records
Compiled between 1768-1785Coventry's Freeman Lists, 1738-1803
Transcribed from original town records.Cemetery Mystery and Discovery
Many missing footstones and a few headstones from
North Coventry found in a most unusual place!
RETURN TO:
Coventry, CT GenWeb Project or DISCOVERY!
Copyright © 2000 Jan (Wilson) Ramos.
This electronic media is intended for personal use and the U.S. GenWeb Project only. It may not be
reproduced in any form for commercial use or profit.Updated 4 May 2008