FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
Hinsdale lies in the southwestern part of the county, in
lat. 42º 48', and long. 4º 32', bounded north by Chesterfield, east by
Winchester, and southwest by the left bank of Connecticut river, the
township being triangular in outline. It originally comprised within its
limits the township of Vernon, on the opposite side of the river. This land,
as it originally stood, was granted by Massachusetts at a very early period.
Even after the river had been declared the boundary line between the
provinces of New Hampshire and New York, and the township had in this manner
been divided, the different parts, though under distinct organizations,
still retained their original name, and were thus known until the zest of
October, 1802, when the name of Hinsdale, in Vermont, was changed to that of
Vernon. The date of the first grant is not accurately known. In a petition,
still extant, from Samuel Hunt, by his attorney, Oliver Willard, which was
presented to the provincial government of New York on the 3d of November,
1766, it is stated, that the tract of land comprised in this township, "was
purchased of native Indians and granted by the province of the Massachusetts
Bay, near one hundred years ago, and was soon afterwards cultivated and
settled; and that it was afterwards found to be in the province line of New
Hampshire, and was then confirmed to the proprietors by power dated the 3d
of September, 1753." The power referred to was the New Hampshire charter of
the township, issued in 1753.
This history entails tax records, sketches of early industry, churches,
military, and benevolent societies, as well as biographies, genealogies, and
sketches of the early settlers.
