Eric Sloane Museum Visit

November 5, 2022

It was time for a fieldtrip to the Eric Sloane Museum in Kent, Connecticut. It contains a fascinating collection of antique American hand tools (and some that worked under oxen, horse and even dog power). It’s fun to see tools that are often mentioned in 18th and 19th century wills. I took a photograph of the Surveyor’s Chains (photo above), an item used for measuring boundary lines in deeds. I could spend hours at this small museum–it’s like a trip back in time!

Vanessa Wood, “Surveyor’s Chain,” photograph, 2022, Eric Sloane Museum.

About Author

Vanessa Wood is a genealogical researcher and writer specializing in American family history, with particular depth in Southern states, California, and families with roots in the United Kingdom. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the National Genealogical Society (NGS), and holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. She is a First Prize winner of the 2026 Montana Family History Writing Contest and has 25+ published articles in journals including the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Vanessa is the author of Pryor Wives: Stories of Family, Fortune, and Fiasco (2023), Board in Venice (2025), and The Kinship Papers, Vol. 1. Her books are available on Amazon.com. She can be contacted via email.