A member of both the Connecticut and the New York historical societies, the author managed to persuade the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut in 1849 "to purchase for the use of the State, two hundred and fifty copies" of his book upon completion, to be distributed among the various state and town legislatures of Connecticut. An interesting way of obtaining funding, indeed! In 1850, the work was finished and duly approved by the Secretary of State, having been "diligently compared with the original Records," as "a true, full, and literal copy of the said Records." "Said Records" being the Records of the General and Particular Courts (1636-1649), of the General Court (1650-1665), of Wills and Inventories (1640-1649), the Code of Laws established in 1650 and no less than twelve appendices, including an abstract of the will of George Fenwick, letters from a Mr. William Goodwin concerning the legacy of Governor Hopkins and a petition of a Mrs. Elizabeth Cullick, "relict to Captayne John Cullick" to the General Court in 1639. The last appendix is a list of documents relating to the union of the colony of Connecticut with New Haven, the first of which is dated October 1662 and the last November 1664. The book contains a name index and a general index, and is illustrated with facsimiles of documents and signatures.