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Ruth Davis Thrall
Collection
Windsor
Historical Society
96 Palisado
Avenue, Windsor, CT 06095
©
2008 Windsor Historical Society of Windsor, CT, Inc.
Creator:
Ruth Davis Thrall (Mrs. Howard C. Thrall, Jr.)
Dates:
1880s-1950
Extent:
1 linear foot
Accession #:
2002.25
Location:
Document Storage 9D
Biographical Note
Horace Thrall (1795-1865), a descendant of one of the
founders of Windsor, was the 5th generation to
farm the original 1635 land grant in the northern part of
Windsor. Many members of this extended family have been
prominent in the community and as progressive tobacco
growers. Thrall family farming activities have also included
dairying, field crops, and raising turkeys for the
commercial markets. Many family members still live in the
Windsor area.
This branch of the Clark family was originally from
Granville, MA. About 1909, Benjamin W. Clark (1862-1924), a
lumberman and dairy farmer, and his wife Mary Winchell Clark
(1861- after 1934) moved to the Poquonock section of
Windsor. There they purchased property on Pleasant Hill and
established a large and successful tobacco plantation. In
time many of their eleven children became involved with the
local tobacco industry as well.
The collection reflects the intermarriage of the large and
extended Thrall and Clark families in Windsor, CT. In the
early part of the 20th century, two of the Clark daughters
married Thrall men, and two of the Clark sons married
Thrall’s granddaughters.
Scope
and Contents
This collection primarily consists of photographic studio
portraits of members of the Benjamin W. Clark and Horace
Thrall families of the Windsor, Connecticut area. It also
contains some pieces of family memorabilia such as wedding
announcements, programs, and newspaper clippings. Windsor
Historical Society has compiled a basic genealogy of the
families and added it to the collection for the user’s
benefit.
Arrangement/Organization
I. Thrall family photographs
II. Clark family photographs
III. Unidentified and non-family photographs
IV. Thrall family ephemera
V. Clark family ephemera
VI. Miscellaneous ephemera
VII. Genealogical materials compiled by Windsor Historical
Society
Related
Materials
Subject
files:
Agriculture
Businesses – Tobacco
Organizations and Clubs – Eastern Star
Family
files:
Clark family
Thrall family
Thrall, Flavia
Subject
Terms
Clark family
Sullivan, Hazel Thrall, 1915-2000
Thrall family
Tobacco industry – Connecticut -- Windsor
Custodial history
The collection was received with no supporting or
identifying documentation. Occasional Clark and Thrall
family researchers visiting the Windsor Historical Society
library have been shown the photographs, and have provided
some of the identification. WHS volunteers have compiled a
basic genealogy to provide context for the photographs.
Newspaper articles that were not directly related to family
activities but were of local historical interest were
photocopied and placed in the appropriate WHS library
subject files.
Sara Hawran and Susan Smoktunowicz processed the collection
in the fall of 2007. Genealogical materials were compiled
by Susan Smoktunowicz and the finding aid was prepared by
Barbara Goodwin in December 2007.
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