Mayor's Council Armenian Group, Hartford, 1920

Mayor’s Council Armenian Group, Hartford, 1920 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Illustrated

A mixture of agriculture and heavy industry in Connecticut has routinely provided employment opportunities for immigrants throughout the state’s history. Waves of primarily northern European immigrants arrived on Connecticut shores during much of the 19th century. A shift in economic circumstances in Europe brought large populations of southern and eastern European immigrants well into the 20th century. Among the opportunities Connecticut offered to newly arrived immigrants was the chance to work on farms, in brass and textile mills, in iron foundries, and in firearms factories. Today, new populations arriving from all over the world, especially Latin America, have helped expand Connecticut’s cultural diversity and given rise to vibrant ethnic communities throughout the state.

Featured

Early 19th-Century Immigration in Connecticut

Numerous factors contributed to the growth of Connecticut in the decades following American independence. …[more]

Learn More

“Mystic Seaport.” http://www.mysticseaport.org/ (November 2, 2011).
Stave, Bruce M. 2017. “Finding Aid to the University of Connecticut, Peoples of Connecticut Project Records: 1979.0014.” UConn University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. https://archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu/repositories/2/resources/590.
“Finding Aid to the Bisaillon Collection of French Canadians in Connecticut.” 2017. UConn University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. https://archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu/repositories/2/resources/255.
“The Connecticut Irish American Historical Society.” 2017. https://www.ctirishhistory.org/.
“Windham Textile & History Museum.” 2017. The Mill Museum. https://millmuseum.org/.
“Middlesex County Historical Society.” 2017. https://mchsct.org/.
“Greenwich Historical Society.” 2017. https://greenwichhistory.org/.
International Festival of Arts & Ideas. 2018. Refugee Resettlement - A Noble American Tradition Under Attack. https://www.artidea.org/video-podcast/3536.
“Connecticut Polish American Archives.” 2017. Central Connecticut State University, Elihu Burritt Library. http://library.ccsu.edu/help/spcoll/cpaa/.
“New Britain Industrial Museum.” http://www.nbim.org/.
“Guide to the Waterbury (CT) Area Immigrant Oral History Collection, University of Connecticut Urban and Community Studies Program, 2003-2011.” 2017. UConn University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. http://collections.ctdigitalarchive.org/islandora/object/20002%3A860115453?solr_nav[id]=e8de4924a740b42318a2&solr_nav[page]=0&solr_nav[offset]=5 (April 13, 2017).
“Guide to Digitized Newspaper Content - Polish Immigrant Lives in Connecticut, 1909-1922.” 2017. Connecticut Digital Newspaper Project. http://ctdigitalnewspaperproject.org/2016/05/polish-immigrant-lives-in-connecticut-1909-1922/.
“Guide to Digitized Newspaper Content - Hungarian Immigrant Lives in Connecticut, 1909-1922.” 2017. Connecticut Digital Newspaper Content. http://ctdigitalnewspaperproject.org/2016/07/hungarian-immigrant-lives-in-connecticut-1909-1922/.
“Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford.” 2017. http://www.jhsgh.org/.
“Weston Historical Society.” 2017. http://www.westonhistoricalsociety.org/.
“Genealogy Resources.” 2017. Connecticut State Library. http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/home (June 28, 2012).
Woodward, Walter. 2013. “Immigrants All….” Connecticut Explored 11(4). https://ctexplored.org/state-historian-immigrants-all/ (April 13, 2017).
Schlund-Vials, Cathy. 2013. “Wartime Relocation Brings Japanese Americans East.” Connecticut Explored 11(4). https://ctexplored.org/wartime-relocation-brings-japanese-americans-east/ (April 13, 2017).
Close, Stacey. 2013. “Southern Blacks Transform Connecticut.” Connecticut Explored 11(4). https://ctexplored.org/southern-blacks-transform-connecticut/ (April 13, 2017).
Glasser, Ruth. 2002. “Tobacco Valley: Puerto Rican Farm Workers in Connecticut.” Connecticut Explored. https://ctexplored.org/tobacco-valley-puerto-rican-farm-workers-in-connecticut/ (April 13, 2017).
“Gunn Historical Museum.” 2017. Gunn Memorial Library & Museum. http://www.gunnlibrary.org/museum.html.
“Guide to The Immigrant Experience in America.” 2015. UConn University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/asc/research/guides/immigration/immigration.htm.
Meyer, David R. 1976. From Farm to Factory to Urban Pastoralism: Urban Change in Central Connecticut. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Anderson, Ruth O. M. 1975. From Yankee to American: Connecticut, 1865-1914. Chester, CT: Pequot Press.
Koenig, Samuel, and Federal Writer’s Project for the State of Connecticut. 1938. Immigrant Settlements in Connecticut: Their Growth and Characteristics. Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Department of Education.
Hoffman, Betty N. 2010. A History of Jewish Connecticut: Mensches, Migrants and Mitzvahs. Charleston, SC: History Press.
Shuldiner, David Philip, Thomas R. Beardsley, and Connecticut Humanities Council. 1996. Connecticut Speaks for Itself: Firsthand Accounts of Life in the Nutmeg State from Colonial Times to the Present Day. Middletown, CT: Connecticut Humanities Council.
BetGivargis-McDaniel, Maegan. 2007. Assyrians of New Britain. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub.
Clouette, Bruce, and Connecticut Centennial Commission for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. 1987. Immigrants: Connecticut’s Diverse Ethnic Heritage. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Centennial Commission for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Gesualdi, Louis J. 1997. The Italian Immigrants of Connecticut, 1880 to 1940. New Haven, CT: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Glasser, Ruth, and Connecticut Humanities Council. 1997. Aquí Me Quedo: Puerto Ricans in Connecticut. Middletown, CT: Connecticut Humanities Council.
Mayer, Henrietta Mello. 2011. South of the Cannons: Portuguese Families of Stonington: A Genealogy and Chronology. Stonington, CT: The Stonington Historical Society, Inc.