Hello all! Fletch made a recent point that he wondered what caused the Blanchards move to the northern part of Vermont. I cannot speak for all the Blanchards who moved there, but I can pss on what motivated my line to move there and, subsequently, to Illinois, according to family tradition. Peter Blanchard, son of Benjamin and Keziah Hastings was a Revolutionary War soldier who served in Col. Hazen's regiment for a period of time. It was Hazen who built the military road which ran by Peacham, VT towards Canada. After the War Peter and his brother Reuben were claimed to have been the first two Blanchards who settled in Peacham. Peter settled there when he drew Silas White's land after White forfeited it and failed to settle there. Peter settled there on 23 August 1783. Other members followed shortly behind. Why settle in Peacham? Peacham was founded in 1775 but it is a little difficult to understand the attraction it held for so manyof our ancestors. The growing seasons were short, the winters were harsh, and it was isolated from major towns and there were few neighboring villages, even in later years. In 1791 the population was 365 people. Other than the magnificent scenery, the main attraction was the extraordinary concentration of whiskey distilleries. The 1800 census recorded a population of only 873 people but in 1802 Peacham had 42 distilleries making potato whisky. My Blanchards were farmers and it is said by the old-timers in the family that he moved there to raise potatoes for the obviously booming distilleries. Good story. True???? Discovering why so many "Peachamites" decided to leave there, all about the same point in time, is another matter. Peacham, the Story of a Vermont Hill Town cites an advertisement in the Windsor Gazette which offered 10,000 acres to "... the industrious yeomanry of Vermont and New Hampshire who wish for lands not lying edgewise." In addition to the mountainous nature of Vermont, the weather extremes had a lot to do with the desires to migrate of my Blanchards. The Chronological Register of Boscawen told of the terrible summer which befell northern New England in 1816. "The whole face of Nature Shrouded in gloom. The Lamps of heaven kept their orbits but their light was cheerless. On the 6th of June, the day of the general election, the snow fell several inches deep, followed by a cold and frosty night; and, on the two following days, snow fell, and frost continued. Also, July 9th, a deep and deadly frost which killed or palsied most vegetables." The weather was even worse in northern Vermont. That June in Peacham, an event took place that was so extraordinary that it was still being cited in the Gazetteer of Vermont in 1849. On 18 June 1816 in Peacham a Mr. Walker got his toe frostbitten so badly that it had to be amputated. The bulk of the migration from Peacham took place from 1840-1860, and the Blanchards were part of it. Hope this helps to explain a little of what we (think) we know from our predecessors. Vince Falter