The Town of Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut (named after Greenwich, Kent, England) lies on the southwest corner of the state and is bounded on the west and north by Westchester County, New York; on the east by the town of Stamford; and on the south by Long Island Sound. On July 18, 1640, Daniel PATRICK and Robert FEAKE, in the name of New Haven Colony, purchased all lands between the Asamuck and Potommuck brooks, in the area now known as Old Greenwich from the native american "owners" living in the area for a sum of "twentie-five coates." The deed was signed by representatives of the tribe and witnessed by Robert A. HEUSTED, Andrew MESSENGER, RASOBITITT, SAPONAS, WHONEHORN, AKEROQUE, WHONEHORN, AKEROQUE, PAUONOHAS, POWIATOH. Greenwich thus became the tenth town established in Connecticut between 1633 and 1640.

     The first couple of years were rough for the early settlers because of disputes over who held control of the colony. The Dutch claimed the area and in fear of not being protected by New Haven Colony, the early settlers signed a 1642 allegiance to "the Noble Lord States General, His Highness, the Prince of Orange, and the West India Company." Greenwich then became a "manor" and Captain Daniel PATRICK and Robert FEAKS, the "patroons of the manor." (Captain Daniel PATRICK had married Annetje VAN BEYEREN, a Dutch woman from New Amsterdam.) From 1642 to 1650, the settlement of Greenwich was officially part of the Dutch colony New Netherland.

     In 1650, the colony of New Haven and the Dutch agreed to boundary lines and once again, the small town of Greenwich reverted back to control by the New Haven Colony. For the most part, the citizens continued to live as they had previously, with everyone doing pretty much whatever they wished. In 1656, claims are made in New Haven that the residents of Greenwich "live in a disorderly and riotous manner, sell intoxicating liquors to the Indians, receive and harbor servants who have fled their masters, and join persons unlawfully in marriage." On October 6, 1656, Greenwich, represented by 12 men, submitted to the New Haven jurisdiction and was then told to "fall in with Stamford."

     On February 5, 1664, the Seven Proprietors made a formal request to the General Assembly in Hartford to be allowed to separate from Stamford and to support its own minister and lay out its own lands. The Seven Proprietors were John MEAD, Jonathan RENALDS, John HOBBY, Joseph FERRIS, Joshua KNAPP, Angell HUSTED, and Jeffrey FERRIS.

     With the construction of the railroad in 1848, the town of Greenwich grew even more, with job possibilities opening for the young men of the community that reached far beyond its boundaries.

     The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records was named for Lucius Barnes Barbour, State Examiner of Public Records from 1911-1934, under whose direction the project was begun. Barbour had directed the publication of the Bolton and Vernon vital records by the Connecticut Historical Society in 1909. He hired several individuals to transcribe the vital records of most other Connecticut towns. Most well-known was James N. Arnold, who had previously published the Rhode Island vital records.

     Yellow slips in the same file have similar entries from private sources and institutions (see Connecticut Private Records Index).

     Since the bound Barbour volumes were prepared from the slips, they contain essentially the same information and the same references to the original records. However, there are some important distinctions:

* While the slip index retains the original spelling of the surname, the bound volumes consolidate surnames under one spelling, so that the original is not preserved.

* Since the bound volume is yet another generation away from the original source, the potential exists for additional errors in transcription.

* Each bound volume contains an introduction explaining the sources of information and abbreviations used.

* Bound volumes were not prepared for the towns of Bolton, Coventry, Enfield, Mansfield, New Haven, Norwich, and Vernon since published compilations of vital records had previously been prepared for these towns. However, these towns are included in the statewide slip index.

* In a few cases, such as those of Coventry and Mansfield, the Barbour slips were prepared from the published vital records, and the page references are to the published book, not to the original manuscript volume. Early Norwich and Woodstock vital records were also published; the Barbour Collection volume for New Haven only covers the years 1847-1851, and the Woodstock volume the years 1848-1866. Published vital records volumes as well as Barbour Collection bound volumes are available for Saybrook, Suffield, and Windham.