Page 26 - North Haven Magazine Issue 14 Summer 2020

Sheldon

Thorpe:

Veteran, Author, and Town Historian
By Marisa Hexter

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, any North
Havener could tell you the backstory to the once rural
farm town; but could anyone tell you each soldier who
fought in the Civil War and World War One? Or where
people were buried before the cemetery on the town
green was created? Could anyone provide a detailed his-
tory to the “rod” about the first settlement in North Ha-
ven? The answer to these last questions is yes, someone
could answer those questions and in great detail. The
man’s name was Sheldon Thorpe, North Haven’s first
town historian. “Town Historian” though was not the
first title to his name; “Civil War Veteran” and “Author”
are just a few others which people knew him to be. Shel-
don Thorpe’s life spanned eighty-six years, and through

back home, he married Isabel Barnes, and they had two
children. Besides the “titles” mentioned above, Thorpe
also worked as a bookkeeper and an accountant as well.
Until his death in 1924, Sheldon Thorpe remained quite
active in North Haven, giving speeches, keeping his fa-
mous diaries, and writing out the town’s history.

The first major event in Sheldon Thorpe’s life was when,
at the age of 23 in 1861, North Haven residents saw

those years he helped preserve the events and the voices
of many North Haven residents.

Sheldon Thorpe was born in 1838 to Dennis and Elmina
Thorpe near Bradley Street. His schooling ranged from
Center School, the District Schoolhouse on Washington
Avenue, and the Brick Academy. He worked as a farmer
before going to serve in the Civil War. When coming
26 North Haven Magazine - Summer Issue 2020