Descendant of the Charter Oak transplanted to the front lawn of Trinity Episcopal Church

1. The tree was planted by George H. Hollister.
2. A “large number of spectators” attended the ceremony.
3. The order of the procession order was as follows:

• Color bearers
• Troop 43 of the Boy Scouts
• Girls’ choir
• Clergy

4. The box contained

• a printed copy of the charter of the Colony of Connecticut
• a memorial list of men of Trinity Episcopal Parish who died in the service

1. It is unclear when exactly the tree was transplanted: it could have been planted after the procession arrived, or it could have been planted before the event began.
2. Miel’s prayer was certainly for the individuals on the memorial list placed at the base of the tree, but the implication of the article is that his prayer included everyone who had died in the service.

The tree’s parent is still alive and well in Bushnell Park.

According to Bissell, the people of Connecticut “prospered under [their charter] greatly and grew strong and were better governed than any of the American Colonies.”  This line from Bissell’s speech came under the subhead, “Colony Best Governed.”

1. Oak trees are monoecious, which is to say they produce both male and female flowers.
2. George F. Hollister was the superintendent of Keney Park and the president of the Trinity Episcopal Church men’s club.
3. Clarence Bissell was the clerk of Trinity Episcopal Church and a member of the Connecticut Historical Society.
4. Today was not Veterans Day – Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11, 1919 as Armistice Day, and Congress recognized November 11 as Armistice Day in 1926. November 11 wasn’t recognized as an annual, national, legal holiday until 1938, but the 1926 Congressional resolution noted that 27 states had already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday.

“The tree is a grandson of the original Charter Oak, an acorn of which produced the oak in Bushnell Park, an acorn from which in turn later produced the tree transplanted yesterday.”

Unattributed.  “Historic Charter Oak’s ‘grandson’ is transplanted,” Hartford Courant, November 12, 1922, page 13.

Unattributed.  “History of Veterans Day,” US Department of Veterans Affairs web page, https://department.va.gov/veterans-day/history-of-veterans-day/, accessed April 4, 2024.