Meeting of the General Court at Hartford
October 8, 1663
This Court orders, that the last Wednesday of this [month] of October be set apart throughout this Colony for a solemn day of Thanksgiving for the mercies God hath extended to us the year past, in the return of our Honoured Governor, the recovery of our Deputy Governor out of his late sickness, the plentiful harvest, the seasonable abatement of the waters, and continued peace and health among us. …
Thanksgiving…. in October?
At its meeting early in October 1663, the General Court (later called the General Assembly) ordered a colony-wide day of Thanksgiving. Among the events leaders were thankful for was the safe return of the colony's governor, John Winthrop, Jr., from England. Winthrop had recently returned with the very important charter signed by King Charles II that colony leaders hoped would ensure Connecticut would remain independent from royal interference. The charter also merged the Connecticut Colony and the New Haven Colony, and set the boundaries of Connecticut all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and included most of Long Island (today part of New York).
Find out more about the Charter of 1662 at Venture Smith's Colonial Connecticut, page 77.
Learn more about John Winthrop Jr. and his settlement of New London HERE.
Read about what else was going on in the colony at that time HERE, including whether New Haven was happy to merge with the Connecticut Colony,
And read about how we almost claimed land all the way to the Pacific Ocean HERE.