Caring for one another: Stories behind pauper expenses in the 1881 budget

In last week’s TownHistory essay, we explored the 1881 Woodbridge Town Budget and noted its five main categories of expenses: Roads & Bridges, Schools, Paupers, Town Officers & Services, and a catch-all Miscellaneous Expenses category. This week, we’ll take a closer look at the section dedicated to supporting community members in need.
Known today as Human Services, in the late-1800s these efforts were listed under the heading “Pauper Expenses.” The Town budget allocated funds for financial aid, medical care, and burial expenses for residents who required assistance. In 1881, a total of $559.53 was expended on eight individuals who were all listed by name (more than a century before privacy laws like HIPAA would prohibit this practice of course). The details published in this document offer a glimpse into how the town cared for its most vulnerable residents.
The concept of local support for those in need was certainly not unique to Woodbridge; it was part of a broader system of “poor relief” that existed across colonial and early American states including Connecticut. An essay by Sarah Morin published on the CT State Library’s website, "Beware the Stranger and the Unworthy: Poverty and Public Welfare in Colonial and Early American Connecticut," provides valuable context on how towns in our region managed public welfare. The author’s research highlights how the system was deeply localized, with towns taking responsibility for their “own poor” while creating firm criteria to exclude non-residents and manage costs. The essay also examines the complexities of transient populations, family obligations, and disputes over who was responsible for the care of vulnerable individuals.
With that background in mind, we can understand the broader societal context within which the 1881 Woodbridge town budget existed as it provides a detailed account of the funds allocated to support individuals in need, categorized under 'Pauper Expenses.' Each entry tells a story of community caring for one another:
Pauper Expenses:
- Jesse B. Goodsell, support of Mrs. Nancy Beach – $114.00
- Mrs. L. Clark, support of Rebecca Umberfield – $100.00
- A. T. Bradley, support of Noyes Bradley – $131.00
- Conn. Hospital for Insane, support of Hattie Sperry – $132.66
- Mrs. J. Hine, support of Merrit Sperry – $12.00
- Jared Warner, support of Merritt Sperry – $4.00
- Hotchkiss & Robbins, support of Merritt Sperry – $3.31
- H. F. Merwin, clothing for Merritt Sperry – $0.75
- J. W. Barker, medical service for Merritt Sperry – $11.50
- Newton & Keiler, coffin and hearse for Merritt Sperry – $16.00
- Samuel Newton, interment of Merritt Sperry – $4.00
Total for Merritt Sperry: $51.56
- Bristol & McClure, groceries for Michael Keegan – $30.00
- Cash paid to aid family of Michael Keegan – $4.10
- General Hospital Society, support of Wm. Corcoran – $13.71
- Edward Farrell, support of Bernard Smith – $12.50
Total pauper expense – $589.53

This breakdown reveals the layers of assistance to residents in need — reimbursing the community members who stepped in to help those who had no means or relatives to provide for them.
Among these entries, the name Merritt Sperry appears repeatedly, tracing his journey through the final chapter of his life, first with support provided by neighbors Mrs. J. Hine and Jared Warner, clothing from the First Selectman Henry F. Merwin, and medical care from Dr. J. W. Barker. But as his situation worsened, the Town ensured Merritt’s dignity in death, finally arranging for a coffin and hearse and his burial. The total expense for Merritt Sperry—$51.56—reflects not only the cost but the care taken by the Town to see him through his last days and provide him with a respectful burial.
Merritt Sperry's life provides a window into the personal stories behind the numbers in the town budget, reflecting the challenges of 19th-century rural life and the ways in which the Woodbridge community supported those in need. Born into a well-known local family, Merritt Sperry (1816 - 1880) was a son of Erastus and Betsy Smith Sperry. Like many of this clan, he had deep ties to the area through his grandparents, Asa Sperry and Eunice Johnson (their family is detailed in a previous post).
Merritt’s life appears to have been shaped by personal loss and hardship and as his final days arrived there were no immediate family members to provide care. His mother, Betsy, lived to the age of 87 and was likely cared for by Merritt who seems to have been her only surviving child. Her son Judson Sperry (1820-1863) served with the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment which fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War. He died shortly after the battle which took place December 12–15, 1862.

Then, just over a year after losing her son in the war, Betsy's husband Erastus died. As an unmarried man, Merritt shouldered the responsibilities of family and farm life while grappling with his own health challenges.
After his mother’s death from pneumonia (according to the Town Death Records) in April of 1880, Merritt’s own health had worsened by the end of that same year, due to heart disease, identified as “ossification of the valves of the heart” in his death record. Recognizing his dire situation, the town stepped in to provide care until his death in November. His story illustrates both the hardships of life in the 19th century and the collective spirit of a community that ensured even its most vulnerable members were cared for with dignity.
The life story of Harriet A. Sperry (1840-1917) offers another window on the past, this time into the challenges of 19th-century women in New England, particularly those who struggled with health issues. Listed as a pauper in the 1881 Woodbridge town budget, Harriet’s story is preserved through historical records and her own diary which is preserved as part of the collection held by the Amity Woodbridge Historical Society.
Harriet was also born into a family with deep roots in Woodbridge on both the Sperry and Peck sides of her family (she and Merritt were 5th cousins though their Sperry kin). Harriet's mother, Caroline E. (Peck) Sperry (1805-1891), was a daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Beecher) Peck and the granddaughter of Revolutionary War Patriot Samuel Fiske Peck (1750-1835) and Elizabeth Platt Peck (1749-1841). Harriet grew up in her grandfather’s home, on the corner of Rimmon and Peck Hill roads in Woodbridge, known as 'Rose Bank' for its beautiful gardens. According to the entry in the Historic Woodbridge book, this home was attributed to the Peck family on mid-19th-century maps.
Harriet's mother Caroline married Zamon Cameril Sperry (born 1800), a son of Demas and Elizabeth (Perkins) Sperry. When Zamon died in 1854, Caroline was left as the head of the household. By 1868, Caroline was listed as living in the home, actively managing the farm, and referred to in the 1870 census as a “farmeress.” At this time, the household also included Harriet and her brother Edward, along with domestic and farm laborers.
One of Harriet’s uncles, Bennet Peck (1803-1893), played an influential role in the extended family. The photographs of Bennet and his family and other unnamed relatives at the top of this essay provide a tangible connection to the close-knit family that surrounded Harriet during her early years.
Harriet’s memory is also preserved through a letter written on February 11, 1944, by Lucy Finney, on behalf of the Amity Woodbridge Historical Society. The letter provides context for Harriet’s diary and offers a glimpse into her family and daily life:


Letter from AWHS president Lucy Finney discusses Harriet Sperry's journal in February 1944.
“The Historical Society will greatly appreciate the Harriette Sperry journal. I am glad the fire had no chance at that. Harriette Sperry lived in Dr. Arnold's house, corner of Rimmon Rd and the Peck Hill Rd. Harriette's father, Zamon Sperry, came from Bethany. Zamon Sperry’s sister, Elizabeth, married Esquire Jason Bradley of Bethany, father of Mrs. Dwight Clark, in whose memory our library was built. Zamon Sperry died in 1854 two years after the diary was written. His widow, Caroline Peck Sperry, continued to live there until her death in 1891. Their daughter Emily rode horseback a great deal. She married Clark Beach. Nettie who wrote the diary was insane for many years and her brother Edward, a carpenter, was odd. He though perfectly sober would stop on the road and preach to a tree or perhaps to a person's house. The family like many others made match-boxes at home. From Harriette’s diary — quote — She made 1100 match-boxes a day at house (This may not have included the lids as she [wrote?] of sometimes making lids).”
Harriet’s diary not only captured the practical aspects of her life but also reflected her engagement with her community. As recounted in Historic Woodbridge, one entry, dated January 11, 1852, highlights her participation in local efforts to support those in need:
“Sewing circle all day and evening at the Academy. Made bedding for the Woodruffs whose two girls died from smallpox. Took up a collection for the New Haven slaves who were sent back to Africa.”
This reference to the survivors of the Amistad Rebellion, who won back their freedom in 1841 after their case was heard in a courtroom in New Haven, reveals the broader social and historical currents that touched Harriet’s life.
By the 1860 federal census, Harriet was noted as “insane” and suffering from a spinal condition. She was listed as living in the household of her maternal grandfather Samuel Peck, age 79, farmer, along with her mother Caroline E Sperry, age 54, and siblings Emily G. Sperry, age 16, and Sidney W. Sperry, age 14. This census record shows that despite her challenges, she remained industrious, contributing to the household along with her sister by making matchboxes, a common form of labor for families at this time in Woodbridge.

By 1880, Harriet was institutionalized at the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane, where she was listed as a schoolteacher, reflecting her attempts to maintain purpose despite her circumstances. The 1881 town budget records the $75 cost of her care, a reminder of how public funds were used to support vulnerable residents. Harriet remained at the institution in Middletown until her death 37 years later, and she was buried in the cemetery on the grounds there.

Harriet’s life, like that of her family, was shaped by resilience and a strong connection to the land and community. The Peck family home, “Rose Bank,” served as the backdrop for much of her life, embodying the family’s history and the challenges they faced. Harriet’s diary offers a deeply personal view of her world, from her labor making matchboxes to her participation in community sewing circles and fundraising efforts.
Through these additional records detailing the lives of Merritt and Harriet, two individuals listed in the 1881 Town Budget, we are reminded of the deep interconnectedness of small-town life. By diving deeper to uncover more about the entries in this ancient budget we've discovered the stories of people who stand as a testament to the many other families who also navigated the margins of 19th-century Connecticut. Their struggles and the support they received reflect the enduring bond between personal hardship and collective caring in Woodbridge — and the importance we have long placed on supporting one another during life’s most challenging times.