Hi Joyce and other listers: You come down pretty hard on the General Services Office. As coordinator of the Chittenden County genweb site, I find myself in their office often. They attempt to help researchers in every way possible. I have only had good experiences with them. If you have not completed the record search request correctly, there may be problems. Please go to my website and download a record search request and give it another try: http://www.sover.net/~mbevins/chit_vt.htm Many births were not recorded in town or state records. Before 1856 there was no legal requirement. After 1856 there are still gaps as enforcement of the 1856 law was not consistent between towns. My Grandfather was born in Vermont in 1864, yet there is no record anywhere of his birth. Let's give your search another try. Mal B Joyce Hathaway wrote: > Hi: > From the response to my questions about ordering vital records in the > 1830's it sounds like what is happening is people send their checks which > are cashed, but don't get any records. What's going on here? Seems to me > they shouldn't have to pay and especially if they know the full date. > Wouldn't these old records be on microfilm? I wouldn't mind paying a small > fee for a search, but surely these offices know what years records they have > and what years they don't have. > Joyce