Eleazer Kimberly was the sixth Secretary of the State of Connecticut

Secretary of the State of Connecticut

The Secretary of the State of Connecticut is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of four years....

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Born in New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

, to Thomas Kimberly and Alice Atwood of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Kimberly was reportedly the first male child born in New Haven. He was a schoolmaster

Schoolmaster

A schoolmaster, or simply master, once referred to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British public schools, but is generally obsolete elsewhere.The teacher in charge of a school is the headmaster...

 in Wethersfield

Wethersfield, Connecticut

Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag...

 from 1661 to 1689. In the 1690s, he held several positions in Glastonbury

Glastonbury, Connecticut

Glastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, founded in 1693. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, 7 miles southeast of Hartford. The town...

, including Commissioner and Town Clerk. Kimberly served as Secretary of Connecticut from 1696 until his death in 1709. He was "one of the best penmen of his time, as attested by the town and colony records."

Kimberly was married three times and had five children. He built the Kimberly Mansion

Kimberly Mansion

Kimberly Mansion is a historic house in Glastonbury, Connecticut. It was the home of Abby and Julia Evelina Smith, political activists involved in causes including abolitionism and women's suffrage...

 in the early 18th century.

Kimberly was also a minor character in the 1958 children's historical novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's historical novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England...

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