8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Registration Begins: Vendor/Exhibitor Room open; 2024 Literary Award winners and entries on display; light Continental breakfast

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM Welcome by Jenny Hawran, CSG President

9:15 AM – 10:15 AM – “Captive Heroes” with Vicki Welch

At least three men of color who served from Connecticut in the American Revolutionary War were captured and redeemed during their service to the Colonies. They had many reasons for choosing to serve and continue their service to the end of the war. They survived the War and the many important battles they fought in. Their captivity was documented. Two were assigned to the Prison Ship Jersey and one spent at least four months in a sugar house. These were incredible men with amazing stories. Vicki will endeavor to bring these stories back to life, lest they be forgotten.

10:15 AM – 11:00 AM – Break – Visit exhibitors

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM  – “Connecticut and the American Revolution” with Matt Warshauer

When studying the beginning of the American Revolution, most people think of Massachusetts, with the Tea Party, Lexington and Concord, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.  But what about Connecticut?  Where was the Provision State in the colonial disagreement with England?  Join Matt Warshauer, Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University, for an intriguing look at Connecticut’s mood and actions leading to the Declaration of Independence and why we were prepared to be the Provision State!

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM – Break – Visit the exhibitors

12:15 PM – 1:30 PM –  Luncheon, Literary Awards & Door prizes

1:30 PM – 1:45 PM – Break – Visit the exhibitors

1:45 PM – 2:45 PM – “Finding American Women’s Voices through the Centuries: Letters, Journals, Newspapers, and Court Records” with Jane Wilcox

Women from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries are challenging to uncover, but we may hear their voices in the documents that recorded their lives. With many examples from the speaker’s own New England, New York, and Wisconsin family history, learn where to look for womenfolk in letters, diaries and journals, newspapers and various court records.

2:45 PM – 3:30 PM – Visit the Vendors/Exhibitors and Evaluations