Love and Family at ASD

As deaf children came to Hartford from across the country, they not only received an education, but created a community. They forged lifelong friendships by learning, living, and working together. Many became young couples and married after graduation.

Sophia Rowley left Winsted to attend The American School for the Deaf (ASD) in the 1830s and met her future husband, Isaac Hine. They moved to this area of Waterbury and began a family of their own. They had two children, Mary, who was hearing, and James, who was deaf. James went to ASD like his parents, and in an odd twist of fate, he too married a classmate named Sophia.

Students at ASD had access to a basic education and specific technical training. In the 19^th century, parents would pick a trade for their children to learn while at school. There were workshops that taught dressmaking, shoemaking, and carpentry. Later, students could learn printing and more recently, car repair.

Both Isaac and his son James learned shoemaking at school and set-up their own shop near this location. They specialized in making shoes and boots and it appears that they had a large workshop in this area.

Credits and Sources:

Photos courtesy of:

MAGIC UCONN Map; CT State Library 1883 Waterbury Directory.