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I imagine that Rit as a short form of Richard might have originated from forms (or variant spellings) like Ritchard and Ritchie.

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Alternatively, if central Connecticut happens to have a significant concentration of Dutch Americans, then this phenomenon might possibly be due to a distant Dutch ancestor of theirs. His given name might have been Ritsaert (an old-fashioned Dutch form of Richard), but he had people call him Rit because Ritsaert is too difficult to pronounce and spell for native English speakers. This was subsequently passed down to his descendants in his honour, even though they were eventually named Richard rather than Ritsaert.

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Ritsaert is pronounced as RIT-sa:rt in Dutch. A more modern spelling of the name is Ritsaart, which has the exact same pronunciation. Here is information about the prevalence of these names (and related names) in the Netherlands in 2014:

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• Ritsaart: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Ritsaart (in Dutch)
• Ritsaerd: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Ritsaerd (in Dutch)
• Ritsaert: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Ritsaert (in Dutch)
• Ritsart: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Ritsart (in Dutch)
• Ritsert (is also West Frisian): https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Ritsert (in Dutch)

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With that said... I just discovered that Rit as a short form of Richard could also be German in origin, as Ritschard is a German variant spelling of the name, which has led to the (old-fashioned) diminutive Ritsch(e)l. Both names are now more common as a patronymic surname. I think Germans would have shortened both names to Ritt, but I am not 100% certain of that. Hopefully one of the native German speakers on this board can shed some light on that.

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Forchta in biuonga quamon ouer mi, in bethecoda mi thuisternussi.
In ic quad: "uuie sal geuan mi fetheron also duuon, in ic fliugon sal in raston sal?"