VERMONT EVOKES IMAGES OF MAPLE SYRUP, dairy farms, fall foliage, winter sports, fishing, swimming, hiking in the mountains, and more. Its location between Lake Champlain, the Connecticut River and Canada has influenced its history and contributed to the rich variety of its people.
From farmers to college professors, Green Mountain Boys to progressive politicians, Vermonters have always gone their own way. Vermont is a great place to research due to its good supply of accessible records. To learn how to find them, read on.
A HISTORY OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE
The area that became Vermont was home to about 10,000 Western Abenaki when French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed down the lake known as Bitawbwa in 1609. Champlain claimed the region for France (and named the lake after himself), and French settlers followed.
After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Vermont attracted settlers from overcrowded southern New England. The Abenaki, who had allied themselves with the French, faced even greater marginalization.
In the mid-1700s, Vermont was
