- At the time of the American Revolutionary War, the militia in Connecticut consisted of small companies of men from a particular Connecticut town who occasionally mustered on the local Common. True or false.
- Is there a difference between a militia and minutemen? Yes or no.
- Anthony Austin (1632-1708), a first proprietor (settler) in Suffield was also the first, though purportedly reluctant, teacher in the town. He played a part in the founding of our country. What was it?
a. He advocated for a unitedcolonial government.
b. Two grandsons and fifteen great grandsons participated in the Revolutionary War.
c. He wrote a pamphlet which argued that women should be given the same educational opportunities as men. His pamphlet was controversial but served as the foundation for greater rights and financial independence for women. - In 1642, two land surveyors were hired by the Massachusetts Bay colony to determine the southern border of Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the surveyors determined that the border was seven miles below what the border should have been. Why did the surveyors make this mistake?
a. They were drunk.
b. They were unqualified.
c. Their instruments were unreliable. - By 1885, what state had the most cigar factories?
a. New York
b. Connecticut
c. Pennsylvania - Which of the following include provisions of Connecticut’s 1780 Quota Act?
a. Each town had to supply a certain amount of food for the Continental Army.
b. 14-year-olds were allowed to enlist with parental permission.
c. Each town was assigned a certain number of men to enlist. If unable to fulfill the quota, a town could be fined. - What percentage of Connecticut’s population served in
the military during the Revolutionary War?
a. 50%
b. 10 %
c. 20% - The May Breakfast held in what is now known as Mapleton Hall, the home of the Suffield Players, started in 1887 to pay off the mortgage for the building which was built by the Mapleton Avenue neighborhood in 1882. The building cost $6,000 and by 1903 only $800 was left to pay. For the 1903 May Breakfast, open 10am to 9 pm, what were the favored items on the menu?
a. Shad, shad roe and lamprey eels
b. Snails, trout and goose liver
c. Beef heart, stewed kidneys and sheep’s tongue - In 1903, the court in the Suffield Town Hall was busy. Which cases were brought before it?
a. On Boston Neck Road, a man was caught in a chicken coop with a dead chicken in his hand. During the previous three months, 400 chickens were stolen in the vicinity. The man pleaded guilty to Justice Hugh Alcorn.
b. Everett Sparks, a West Suffield farmer, fired beans into a crowd of young men who were serenading his recently married son and participating in destructive behavior. One of the gang members made a complaint after he was hit by some beans and Mr. Sparks was arrested. The farmer was defended by Hugh Alcorn and was acquitted.
c. A thief entered the window of the West Suffield station of the Central New England railroad, stealing $1 in pennies and nickels. Also stolen from a trunk stored at the station were a suit of clothes, one pair of trousers, a flannel shirt and a lady’s skirt.
ANSWERS
- Partially true. Every Connecticut town militia belonged to a numbered regiment from 1739 on. Not only would the town militias train in their town, they would also train with their numbered regiments. Suffield belonged to the First Regiment Connecticut Militia.
- Yes. A militia was a company of men formed to protect their towns and colony. Minutemen were a small handpicked elite force selected from militias. They were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. Typically, they were 25 years of age or younger, and were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength. Usually about one quarter of the militia served as Minutemen. As early as 1645, the Massachusetts Bay colony selected minutemen from the militias. Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, a patriotic movement swept through Connecticut. Many soldiers aspired to be Minutemen.
- b. Two grandsons and fifteen great grandsons participated in the Revolutionary War.
- All three answers have been suggested as reasons for the surveyors’ mistake, although one of them had previously worked as a surveyor.
- c. Pennsylvania with 4,658 factories. New York had 4,495. Connecticut ranked 13th. At that time Suffield had 20 factories (probably small, cottage factories).
- c. Each town was assigned a certain number of men to enlist. If unable to fill the quota, the town could be fined. The Act also permitted substitutes. “Hiring” enslaved people as substitutes became a common practice.
- c. 20%, or more than 40,000 men.
- a. Shad, shad roe and lamprey eels.
- Both a. involving the chicken thefts and b. the bean shooting farmer were cases in the Suffield court. The court was filled to capacity for the bean shooting case as the gang had been rampaging through the town for two years causing destruction and mayhem. The train station burglary really happened but the thief was not apprehended.