For future research

In many of the early land records on 847 Asylum Avenue, the estate of Joseph Morgan held an interest in the property, which had been a part of the Joseph Morgan Farmstead. Henry K. Morgan and George D. Morgan acted as trustees for Joseph Morgan’s estate, but Henry and George were not, near as I can tell, related to Joseph despite their shared last name. In 1857, Henry bought the house at 108 Farmington Avenue, which Joseph had built for his son Junius after Junius married Juliet Pierpont in 1836. So far, this is the only connection I have found between Henry and George on the one hand and Joseph on the other.

Typically, the property owner or the architect would file a petition before the municipal government for permission to build, but so far I haven’t found a reference to either Linus Plimpton or John C. Mead doing this. At present, I can only say that work on the addition had begun by May 21, 1884, when the Courant reported that “the remodeling of Mr. L. B. Plympton’s house on Asylum avenue, at a cost of about $10,000, is nearly finished.”

I received a call from Corlis Carroll, who had been married to the grandson of Roland Aunchman and Freida Aunchman, who she described as working for the Plimptons and living at 847 Asylum Avenue. Roland was the driver and landscaper, and Freida was the housekeeper and cook. I haven’t found any record of the Aunchmans in the Courant, so my next stop is the US Census for 1930 and 1940.