What was recorded, with some exceptions, has been extracted from the originals in the towns and indexed in a central file held by the Vermont Public Records Division. All events indexed before 1980 can be found at the division's new facility on Route 2, Middlesex, Vermont (Exit 9 on Interstate 89). The mailing address is General Services Administration, Drawer 33, Montpelier, Vermont 05633-7601. No thorough survey has ever been taken to determine whether some towns' early vital records were inadvertently missed in the statewide index. It is known that Holland, Sheffield, Maidstone, and Troy vital records were not included, and some vital records from Burlington in the 1870s seem to be missing entirely. Anyone can search the microfilm at the Public Records Division, or a search can be requested by mail for a charge of $5 per event. This includes a certified copy of the microfilmed index card, if found, containing a reference for locating the original record in the individual town records. The microfilmed card index is broken down into eight time periods: 1760-1870; 1871 1908; 1909 1941; 1942 1954; 1955 1979; 1980; 1981; and 1982. Separate cards for births, marriages (both bride and groom), death, and cemetery records are in the index. Cemetery cards, however, appear only in the 1760 1870 microfilm grouping. The statewide index was created about 1919, and in the process, the state surveyed all the cemeteries in Vermont to record deaths before 1857, the year mandatory recording began. Generally, only those gravestones that were still standing in 1919 and mentioned deaths before 1857 were included in the survey. Microfilm copies of the first two time periods (1760–1870, 1871 1908) are additionally available at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (see page 9) and through the FHL. After 1857, many births were recorded before a child was named. Unnamed infants are listed in reverse chronological order in the front of that surname's listing in the card index. The index is filed in strict alphabetical order. Variants in spellings must be checked thoroughly. While the state issues a certified copy of the microfilmed index card as its official record, the original record in the town clerk's office, often recorded with other family vital records, may provide additional information helpful in research. Once the index card has been located with the reference for the original record, it is often important to obtain a copy of the event as it appears in its original form. The reference on the index card will indicate where to locate the event in the town's original records. Since a large majority of the town's original records are also on microfilm in the Public Records Division, microfilm copies of the originals can be researched there. Vermont's town records before 1850 are also on microfilm through the FHL, although the holdings are not as complete as at the Public Records Division. Vital records after 1982 are found at the Vital Records Office, 108 Cherry Street, P.O. Box 70, Burlington, Vermont 05841. Files are open to the public but accessed by a clerk. The cost, either in person or by mail, is presently $5 per event. At the Public Records Division, a separate statewide microfilm index to divorce decrees covers 1861–1968. The decree books themselves are also microfilmed and available there. Summary divorce papers from 1968 1979 are arranged alphabetically by surname in one group at the division. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.