The Early History of Tolland

Loren P. Waldo originally read his address on the early history of Tolland before the Tolland County Historical Society and many of his listeners expressed a strong desire to see his address in print. As the society proposed to have it published, the author revised his work and prepared it for publication. His purpose was "to speak of the early history of the town of Tolland, and to gather up and preserve some mementos of the persons who first peopled its territory." The author's passion for Tolland's heritage is evident in his writing. "The territory now called Tolland, prior to the year 1700, formed a part of the vast wilderness that covered the western continent before the track of civilization ever visited these shores, and was inhabited only by wild beasts or wilder men." A wide range of topics are covered, including detailed descriptions of seventeen lots of land (with lists of petitioners and grantees), meeting houses, ministers, military (with lists of volunteers, rolls, payrolls, pension applicants and more), burying grounds, the post office, town clerks (with a list of names and dates of service), census of Tolland, members of the House of Representatives (which lists representatives in the General Assembly spanning October 1748 to May 1861), justices of the peace (with a list of names and dates of service from settlement to 1861), and selectmen (with a chronological list of names, 1717-1860). Family records with varying amounts of genealogical information augment most of the chapters. A full-name index has been added to this work.