Catalog of Manuscript Collections

Creator: Ralph Dunning Smyth (1804-1874) Extent: c. 3 ft. (950 items including 20 vols.) Description: Smyth was a lawyer, judge, and State legislator of Guilford, Conn. His papers consist mainly of genealogical records of Guilford families, together with writings on the history of the town, and town, church, and probate records. Included are genealogies of the Bushnell, Lee, Norton, Seward, Smith (Smyth), and Spencer families; history of local Indians; Revolutionary and Civil War material; abstracts from the papers of Rev. Samuel Johnson; church and town records from Southbury and Woodbury, CT; list of early settlers in Fairfield County, CT; records (1663-1844) of real estate transactions in Clinton, Colchester, Hammonasset, and Killingworth, CT; and biographies of early graduates of Yale College. Research Topics: History of early Guilford, as well as other Connecticut towns and churches; 19th century Yale graduates