Just a quick announcement – my project to collect links to digitized county histories for all fifty U.S. states is finished.

Hawaii was #50 and it posted this morning.

To simplify finding the links, there is a County Histories tab at the top of my home page, just under the header photo of the Empty Branches tree.

It opens as a drop down menu with states listed in ABC order.

I hope you find lots of good “stuff” to add to your family trees.

Be aware, though, that biographies in these books tend to be as accurate as online family trees. Some are 100% correct, while others are embellished stories told by family members to the salesmen who collected their stories to publish.

Use due diligence in proving all the details, as they are CLUES to be followed.

Have fun!

Well, we’ve reached state #50, which also happens to have become our 50th state – the gorgeous state of Hawaii.

As you can imagine, since the peak of county histories was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, long before Hawaii’s statehood in 1959, there is little in the way of digitized histories.

FAQ

1. While every county in the state is listed, links are only provided for titles that no longer fall under U.S. copyright laws. All (almost) links connect to free websites.
2. There are a few instances when a book has been digitized, but is only found on a paid site. In that case, no link is inserted, but a note as to the website where it has been found is given.
3. When a state history has also been found in digital format, it is listed in the STATE section that precedes the county list. I have limited STATE entries to those with county histories/biographical volumes in them.
4. There are a number of counties that DO have histories written, BUT they remain copyrighted material. Therefore, if a county has NONE after its name, it doesn’t mean there is no county history, just that none has been digitized. It’s also possible that the only digitized county history is included in one of the state volumes, so be sure to check those entries.
5. If the book is on FamilySearch, you will need a free account to access it. This list does NOT include town histories.
6. When all fifty states have been completed, I will post a PDF of them all.
7. One last note – it is very possible that a book is digitally available on more than one website. I’ve only included links to one site per book.

HAWAII

STATE – The pilgrims of Hawaii: their own story of their pilgrimage from New England and life work in the Sandwich Islands now known as Hawaii, Orramel Hinckley Gulick & Ann Eliza Clark Gulick, Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, 1918.
STATE – Men of Hawaii: being a biographical reference library, complete, John William Siddall, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Ltd., 1921.

HAWAII – NONE
HONOLULU – Experience of a medical student in Honolulu and on the island of Oahu, 1881, Lloyd Vernon Briggs, David D. Nickerson, Boston, 1926. [FamilySearch Film 1321394, Item 8]
KALAWAO – NONE
KAUAI – NONE
MAUI – Hawaiian homesteading on Molokai, 1877-1896, Felix Maxwell Keesing, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1936. [FamilySearch Film 1011807]

There you have it. Lnks to all 50 states’ worth of county histories can be found under the COUNTY HISTORIES tab under the header photo above.

I’ll be sharing my experiences about this 2 month project very soon. I learned a lot about history and geography.

Connecticut is today’s entry. I never realized that it has only eight counties! However, all have digitized county histories, so have fun browsing.

FAQ

1. While every county in the state is listed, links are only provided for titles that no longer fall under U.S. copyright laws. All (almost) links connect to free websites.
2. There are a few instances when a book has been digitized, but is only found on a paid site. In that case, no link is inserted, but a note as to the website where it has been found is given.
3. When a state history has also been found in digital format, it is listed in the STATE section that precedes the county list. I have limited STATE entries to those with county histories/biographical volumes in them.
4. There are a number of counties that DO have histories written, BUT they remain copyrighted material. Therefore, if a county has NONE after its name, it doesn’t mean there is no county history, just that none has been digitized. It’s also possible that the only digitized county history is included in one of the state volumes, so be sure to check those entries.
5. If the book is on FamilySearch, you will need a free account to access it. This list does NOT include town histories.
6. When all fifty states have been completed, I will post a PDF of them all.
7. One last note – it is very possible that a book is digitally available on more than one website. I’ve only included links to one site per book.

CONNECTICUT

STATE – Connecticut historical collections: containing a general collection of interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., John Warner Barber, Durrie & Peck, New Haven, Connecticut, 1837.
STATE – Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial, American Historical Society, New York, 1916.
STATE – Biographical encyclopedia of Connecticut & Rhode Island to the nineteenth century, Henry Clay Williams, Metropolitan Publishing & Engraving Company, New York, 1879.

FAIRFIELD – History of Fairfield County, Connecticut: with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Duane Hamilton Hurd, J.W. Lewis, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1881.
FAIRFIELD – Leading Business Men of Fairfield County, and a historical review of the principal cities, Mercantile Publishing Company, Boston, 1887.
FAIRFIELD – History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928, Volume 1, Lynn W. Wilson, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1929.
FAIRFIELD – History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928, Volume 2, Lynn Winfield Wilson, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1929.
FAIRFIELD – History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928, Volume 3, Lynn Winfield Wilson, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1929.
HARTFORD – History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928: being a study of the makers of the first constitution and the story of their lives, of their descendants and of all who have come, Volume 1, Charles Winslow Burpee, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1928.
HARTFORD – History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928: being a study of the makers of the first constitution and the story of their lives, of their descendants and of all who have come, Volume 2, Charles Winslow Burpee, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1928.
HARTFORD – History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928: being a study of the makers of the first constitution and the story of their lives, of their descendants and of all who have come, Volume 3, Charles Winslow Burpee, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1928.
HARTFORD – The Memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1, James Hammond Trumbull, E.L. Osgood, Boston, 1886.
HARTFORD – The Memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 2, James Hammond Trumbull, E.L. Osgood, Boston, 1886.
LITCHEFIELD – A biographical history of the county of Litchfield, Payne Kenyon Kilbourne, Clark, Austin & Company, New York, 1851.
LITCHFIELD – History of Litchefield County, J.W. Lewis, Philadelphia, 1881.
LITCHFIELD – Litchfield County sketches, Newell Meeker Calhoun, Litchfield County View Club, 1906.
LITCHFIELD – Rural life in Litchfield County, Charles S. Phelps, Litchfield County University Club, 1917.
LITCHFIELD – Litchfield County centennial celebration: held at Litchfield, Conn., 13th and 14th of August, 1851, E. Hunt, Hartford, Connecticut, 1851.
LITCHFIELD – Biographical review of . . the leading citizens of Litchefield, County, Connecticut, Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, 1896.
MIDDLESEX – A statistical account of the county of Middlesex in Connecticut, David Dudley Field, 1819.
MIDDLESEX – History of Middlesex County, J.E. Beers, New York, 1884.
NEW HAVEN- Leading Business Men of New Haven County, William Hale Beckford, Mercantile Publishing Company, Boston, 1887.
NEW HAVEN – History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 1, J.L. Rockey, W.W. Preston & Company, New York, 1892.
NEW HAVEN – History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 2, J.L. Rockey, W.W. Preston & Company, New York, 1892.
NEW HAVEN – Index to History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 1, Decatur Genealoigcal Society, Decatur, Illinois, 1989. *Volume 2 not found.
NEW HAVEN – A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Volume 1, Everett G. Hill, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, New York, 1918.
NEW HAVEN – A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Volume 2, Everett G. Hill, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, New York, 1918.
NEW HAVEN – History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 1, Mary Hewitt Mitchell, Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1930.
NEW HAVEN – History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 2, Mary Hewitt Mitchell, Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1930.
NEW HAVEN – History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume 3, Mary Hewitt Mitchell, Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1930.
NEW LONDON – Biographical review of. . leading citizens of New London, Connecticut, Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, 1898.
NEW LONDON – History of New London County, Duane Hamilton Hurd, J.W. Lewis, Philadelphia, 1882.
NEW LONDON – A modern history of New London County, Volume 1, Benjamin Tinkham Marshall, Lewis History Publishing Company, New York, 1922.
NEW LONDON – A modern history of New London County, Volume 2, Benjamin Tinkham Marshall, Lewis History Publishing Company, New York, 1922.
NEW LONDON – A modern history of New London County, Volume 3, Benjamin Tinkham Marshall, Lewis History Publishing Company, New York, 1922.
TOLLAND – History of Tolland County, including its earliest settlement. . to the present time, J.R. Cole, W.W. Preston & Company, New York, 1888.
WINDHAM – History of Windham County, Volume 1, Ellen Douglas Larned, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1874-1880.
WINDHAM – History of Windham County, Volume 2, Ellen Douglas Larned, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1874-1880.
WINDHAM – Historic gleanings in Windham county, Ellen Douglas Larned, Preston & Rounds, Providence, Rhode Island, 1899.
WINDHAM – History of Windham County, Richard M. Bayles, W.W. Preston & Company, New York, 1889.
WINDHAM – A modern history of Windham County, Volume 1, Allen B. Lincoln, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1920.
WINDHAM – A modern history of Windham County, Volume 2, Allen B. Lincoln, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1920.