Carrington House, Wallingford, Connecticut:
At the corner of North Elm Street and Christian Street is an early Federal style house erected in 1824. Nowadays, the property belongs to Choate Rosemary Hall, though the home once belonged to the Carrington family, who were among of the first settlers of Connecticut.
The extensive Carrington ancestry traces back to (at least) the 12th century when Sir Michael Carrington bore standards for King Richard I of England. Fast forward about a half millennium to 1640 and the same family helped to establish the Town of Farmington, Connecticut. They were an influential family even though, in 1651, John and Joan Carrington of Wethersfield were executed for witchcraft.
As for Wallingford’s Carrington House, the first deedholder was probably James Carrington, an inventor who apprenticed under Eli Whitney. On April 14, 1832, James patented a rolling parallel ruler that prevented ink from smearing. In 1849, the U.S. House of Representatives ordered six dozen Carrington rulers for $2.30 per dozen.
Carrington House was likely the birthplace of James Carrington’s grandson, Henry Beebee Carrington – a Colonel during the Civil War, Yale Law School graduate, abolitionist, prolific author, educator, historian and a founder of the Ohio Republican Party. He was a controversial figure because he never led a regiment into battle, especially when in command of Fort Phil Kearny amid the Fetterman Massacre of the Red Cloud’s War in 1866.
Books authored by Henry B. Carrington: The Scourge of the Alps (1847) Russia Among the Nations and American Classics (1849) Battles of the American Revolution, 1775-81 (1876) Crisis Thoughts (1878) Battle Maps and Charts of the American Revolution (1881) The Indian Question (1884) Battles of the Bible Boston and New York, 1775 and 1776 (1885) Washington the Soldier (1899) The Exodus of the Flat Head Indians (1902).
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