The Myth and Reality of Country Life,
Granby, Connecticut
1680 - 1940
by Mark Williams
~~~~~~
OUTLANDERS - DISSENTERS - REBELS
These words do not seem to fit the traditional view of a peaceful, rural village of yesterday - or do they? In the new history of Granby, Connecticut, author Mark Williams researched Granby's bucolic past and found a myth.
Peaceful, contented people do not cross an ocean to live in a wilderness. These early settlers had the courage and determination to leave security for the unknown. Their children and grandchildren pushed into the frontier with the same independent spirit. The men and women who created Granby, were contentious, stubborn, and sometimes, downright cantankerous.
Mark Williams has written a book that is accurate, scholarly and witty. It presents a broad view of the history of Granby in the context of the times, and takes Granby from the wilderness home of the Agawam and Massaco tribes to the brink of World War II. The book has maps of early land grants and many old photographs. Quotes from original Simsbury and Granby Town Meetings, lawsuits and Church meetings bring the past vividly to life. You will read letters from the western exodus, from young women at school, and from soldiers in many wars. There are diaries and journals telling the minutiae of life. You will meet reformers and cider brandy makers, people from "The Street," hillside farmers, and the immigrants, old and new. You will learn how events in the state, the nation and the world affected this insular border town.
History is not simply a catalog of abstract events. The fabric of a community is made up of its people, and throughout the book we are introduced to a fascinating cast of characters.
REV. ISAAC PORTER,
who monitored the morals of the town with an iron hand and preached on the topic
of
predestination for 38 years (in a
monotone).
JAMES HUGGINS,
the innkeeper, mill owner, and politician whose unguarded remarks
about Rev. Porter
resulted in an acrimonious public trial, and his excommunication from the
church.
ADDIE HOLCOMB, whose
diaries and letters record the frustrations of a young woman trapped in the
drudgery of woman's work.
LEN PERCY, a
black man who said he'd give his life for the right to vote, and was killed in a
Civil War battle
in Virginia.
SGT. RICHARD HENRY LEE, A stalwart patriot, even in that hell called Andersonville.
ROSANNA & SAMUEL HAYES,
respected leaders in Town, Church and Rebellion. Their farmhouse
still stands on Barn Door Hills Road.
TUDOR & LAURA HOLCOMB,
last owners of a farm whose history is a microcosm of Granby
history. This
brother and sister were generous benefactors to Granby and Connecticut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARK WILLIAMS
Mark Williams is a native of Albany, New York and has lived in West Granby, Connecticut for 25 years. He has a B.A. from Yale, an M.A. from the University of Connecticut and has been a history teacher at Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut since 1975.
As a member of the Salmon Brook Historical Society, he has taught a class in researching local history, initiated the publication of Collections of the Salmon Brook Historical Society featuring papers on Granby history, and edited and indexed the Society's bicentennial publication of Granby Town Records 1786 - 1853.
Mark is a National Register Consultant for the Connecticut Historical Commission, and a member of the Connecticut Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History. He has created course materials for American and World History in Connecticut high schools, and researched the age and human history of over 30 early houses.
Six years ago, at the request of the Salmon Brook Historical Society, Mark agreed to write a narrative history of Granby - a task he had planned to do in retirement. The result is a book that will define Granby history for generations to come.
Hard cover book, 559 pages $45
Special numbered edition leather bound $75
