The house at 638 Main Street in Portland was most likely built sometime between c. 1855-1859. It was originally the home of Samuel Buckingham, a merchant (possibly the Samuel Buckingham who was born in 1808 and died in 1870). The former Buckingham Store, also built in the 1850s and now home to the Gildersleeve Sprit Shop, is located next door at 642-644 Main Street. Next door to that, at the corner of Indian Hill Avenue, is the former Gildersleeve Store, 646 Main Street, built in 1855.
At 80 Central Avenue in East Hartford is a Queen Anne-style house. Its original facade now lies behind the later additions of a two-story entry porch and an octagonal bay and porch. The house was erected in 1891 on a property that R.W. Roberts, who owned several lots on Central Avenue, had sold to Daniel W. Green in 1889. Green, born in 1857 and originally from Sumner, Oxford County, Maine, was a contractor and builder. According to Vol. I of the Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford County, Connecticut (1901):
Daniel W. Green was educated in the common schools of his native district, also at the South Paris (Maine) High School, and after leaving school, at the age of sixteen years, on account of weakened eyes brought about by typhoid fever, he worked in various mills until about 1882, when he went to Crescent City, Putnam Co., Fla. There he learned the carpenter’s trade, worked there five years, and then returned to Connecticut, worked one year for Cheney Brothers, in Manchester, next moved to East Hartford worked for W. J. Driggs, contractor and builder, for nine years, and in 1896 began contracting and building on his own account, in which he has met with success—a success due to his pains-taking endeavor to please his patrons. On Sept. 19, 1883, Mr. Green married Miss Emma F. Wetherell, a native of South Manchester, born April 27, 1861 [. . . .]
To the marriage of Daniel W. Green and wife have been born two children: Ernest Carlton, in Crescent City, Fla., Sept. 8, 1886, and Marian Lucille, Oct. 28, 1888, in South Manchester. Mr. Green and his family attend the Congregational Church, of which Mrs. Green has long been a conscientious member. In politics Mr. Green is inclined to Democracy, but does not always cast his vote for that party; fraternally he is a member of Wadsworth Council, No. 39, O.U.A.M., of Manchester. Through his industry, skill, and industrious habits, Mr. Green has gained a comfortable home, which he built in 1891, on a lot purchased from Watson Roberts. He is a genial, whole-souled gentleman, and he and his wife, with their two bright children, form a happy family, greatly respected by all who know them.
The Greek Revival house at 10 Main Street in Bethel was probably built by Frederick Shepard (1815-1894), who came from a family of hatters and was also a lawyer. He used the house as his office. The 1879 Bird’s Eye View of Bethel shows a now-lost gable-roofed structure in front of the house. Around that time, Shepard served as town clerk and was an enumerator for the 1880 census.
The house at 30 Main Street at the corner of Parker Lane in Essex was erected in 1840 for Judge William Phelps. It was later owned by Dr. Charles H. Hubbard (1836-1908), who practiced in Essex for nearly forty-eight years. He also held various town offices and was the executor for the estate of Capt. Isaiah Pratt (1814-1879), who had left money for a new high school. Dr. Hubbard successfully challenged a stipulation in the will that would have limited enrollment to the children of parents who were members of the First Congregational Church. He continued as a trustee and leader of the new school for many years and Hubbard Field in Essex is named for him.
The house at 285 Cherry Brook Road in Canton was built by James Humphrey, Sr between 1790 and 1800. The house has two ells that were added later: one in the rear and a large one on the south side that at various times has housed a second family. The Richardson family occupied the house for several generations. Teachers often boarded in the house during the years that the Center District School was located across the meadow road.
The Alexander Catlin House, built in 1778, is located at 258 North Street in Litchfield, where the street splits into Goshen Road and Norfolk Road. The colonial home features a gambrel roof and widow’s walk. The house was built by Alexander Catlin, one of the founders of the Litchfield China Trading Company. This may be Alexander Catlin, Sr. (son of John Catlin), who was born in Litchfield in 1738 and died in Burlington, Vermont in 1809. Later owners of the house included Stephen Deming and M. W. and K. L. Buel.
The house at 22 Main Street in East Hampton has a sign indicating it was the home of Franklin Ackley and was built c. 1872. This may be Franklin M. Ackley (1842-1922) who died in East Hampton and is buried in East Haddam.
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