Westover, Lavina, 1791-1871
Biography
Lavina Ensign Westover, the daughter of Samuel Ensign, Jr. and Abigail (Gibbs) Ensign, was born in the South Farms section of Litchfield. She attended the Morris Academy before 1810. On 10 Oct. 1811, she married Salmon Woodruff of South Farms and they had 4 children. On 1 July 1823 she filed a petition for divorce on the grounds of desertion and the divorce was granted by Connecticut Superior Court on 5 Feb. 1827. In 1828 she married David Westover (1774-1853) of South Farms where they lived on what is now Bantam Lake Road in Morris. The homestead burned down in 1878. Lavina Westover was noted for her recording of genealogical information and notable events in South Farms, now Morris/Litchfield. Rhoda Cowles of Morris remarked: "She may truly be called the antiquarian of Morris."
Citation:
Author: Lee S. CookFound in 1 Collection or Record:
Lavina Westover papers
1950-22-0
The bulk of these papers consists of notes about families in Litchfield, particularly the South Farms section. There is one notebook organized alphabetically by family and other loose papers arranged by life events, i.e. births, deaths, and marriages. Also included is Lavina Westover's journal of personal events, verse, weather and ice on Bantam Lake; verse and penmanship exercises by Lavina; and a few household records of David & Lavina Westover.