Effective family history research requires some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends can help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns.

State, county, and town histories often contain biographical sketches of local citizens, including important genealogical information. This may be one of the best sources of information for some families.

The following important events in the history of Vermont affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements:

1724	The first permanent English settlement was made at Fort Dummer, near the site of present-day Brattleboro. Permanent settlement began in most of Vermont after 1760, when the English drove the French from the area.
1749–1764	New Hampshire granted land for 129 towns in Vermont.
1764–1776	New York claimed jurisdiction and tried to establish county governments in the area. Albany, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Charlotte counties of New York included what is now Vermont. When New York land grants conflicted with the earlier grants, New Hampshire pioneers formed the Green Mountain Boys to drive first the “Yorkers” and then the British from the area.
1777–1791	Vermont was an independent republic until it joined the Union in 1791.
1800–1816	Many people went to new lands in upstate New York to escape the War of 1812, cold seasons, floods, and epidemics. In one epidemic more than 6,000 persons died.
1820–1860	The Champlain Canal opened in 1823, connecting Vermont to New York City. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, carrying Vermont settlers to Ohio and other western areas. Irish laborers came to work on Vermont railroads, the first of which opened in 1848.
1861–1865	More than 35,000 Vermonters served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
After 1850	Agriculture declined and farmers left for the cities or better farms in the Midwest.
Late 1800s	French Canadians and Europeans settled mostly in cities to work in factories. Burlington grew rapidly because of lumber. The granite industry boomed in Barre. The textile industry declined and many mills were moved to the South.
1930s	Depression closed many factories and mills.
1960s	Interstate highways led to increased tourism.