Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield record book
00-1936-10-0
Scope and Contents
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield record book (1936-10-0) contains meeting minutes from April 17, 1878 through December 4, 1878 of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield, Connecticut. Also included in the book is the "Constiution of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield" which was organized on April 17, 1878 at the Congregational Chapel in Litchfield. The second half of the record book contains personal notes concerning Revolutionary war soldiers, their descendents, and burial places. These seem to have been added at a later date and are not related to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield. List of members of the Mary Floyd Chapter of the DAR with the name of their Revol. war ancestor. The item is currently housed in 3A Box 30.
Dates
- created: 1878
- Other: Date acquired: 10/07/1937
Creator
- Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the creator(s) of this collection for materials they have authored or otherwise produced. After the lifetime of the creator(s), copyright passes to the Litchfield Historical Society. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Biographical or Historical Information
Litchfield County, Connecticut had a long involvement in the Temperance Movement in the United States. The first American Temperance Society was established at Litchfield, Connecticut in 1789. Two hundred farmers in the town met to create an association to discourage the use of spirituous liquors. Following this, Reverends in the area began taking the topic up at their pulpit.
In the year 1811 the General Association of the Congregational body in America appointed a committee on the subject of intemperance. When this committee was unable to suggest or propose a remedy, the Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher of Litchfield moved for the appointment of another committee to report without delay a remedy for intemperance. He was himself appointed chairman of this second committee, and reported resolutions recommending to all good men total abstinence from all distilled liquors. The report was adopted, and from that time Rev. Beecher acted upon the principle and trained his children therein.
In 1812, while pastor of the Congregational Church at Litchfield, he preached six sermons on “The Evils of Intemperance.” These were published in 1827 and widely circulated in the United States and throughout Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1827 a temperance society was organized in Torringford, and soon after this a temperance society for Litchfield County was organized. The Litchfield County Society continued its active work for a number of years, and secured much support in the area. Local temperance organizations continued to form in Litchfield County throughout the nineteenth century, including Woman’s Temperance Unions in Litchfield and New Milford.
Note written by
Extent
0.00 Linear Feet
1 bound volume. other_unmapped
Language of Materials
English
Source of Acquisition
Richards Family
Method of Acquisition
Gift
Existence and Location of Originals
multi-part note content
Other Descriptive Information
This collection was processed with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Title
- Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Litchfield record book
- Date
- 11/05/2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Litchfield Historical Society Repository
7 South Street
P.O. Box 385
Litchfield CT 06759
860-567-4501
860-567-3565 (Fax)
archivist@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org