Thanksgiving has origins in New England where it was centered and observed in various local and provincial celebrations. Some sources state that Colony of Connecticut is given credit for initially adopting an annual day of general Thanksgiving. The first proclamation was called for September 18, 1639, and two others were on record in 1644 and 1649. These are significant because civil authorities proclaimed this day of thanksgiving and focused on general blessings and thanks for well-being which was a step toward the holiday we know today.
Attempts to verify these claims of the Colony of Connecticut's role by locating and verifying primary sources initially proved to be challenging. General "Googling" and trusted databases failed to bring up any primary sources supporting this assertion. What's a law librarian to do? Head to HeinOnline!
Alongside many offerings, HeinOnline features Prestatehood Legal Materials – a one-stop source of information about the primary sources of law during the colonial and territorial periods of states. The first proclamations of its sort were found in
The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, (1850-1890).
Here it was astounding to see the earliest records all the way back to August 16th, 1639 (and multiple variations of our present day spelling of “public”) where the Colony of Connecticut decided to name a day of Thanksgiving for general blessings:
"It was concluded that there be a publique day of thanksgiving in these plantacons uppon the 18th of the next month."
On October 25, 1644 the court ordered:
"Its ordered, there shalbe a publike day of thanksgiving through this Jurisdiction, uppon Wensday com fortnight."
Another order was declared on December 5, 1649:
It is ordered by this Courte, that there shall bee a publick day of Thanksgiving kept by all the Churches within this Jurissdiction that may bee seasonably acquainted therewith, uppon this day fortnight.
For more information on how Thanksgiving became an annual, national holiday as well as controversies surrounding it (albeit sans Connecticut Colony's contribution) head to the HeinOnline Blog: The History and Controversy of Thanksgiving. Regardless, we hope you take a moment to enjoy Thanksgiving and contemplate Connecticut's historic contribution to the tradition we enjoy today.
