Harriet Gee. If you need to go to the clerk's office for air conditioning, you might do a little lookup for me there. I'd really appreciate it. By the way, the Randolph deeds I was examining were on an LDS microfilm. I live in California, too old and especially too poor to get to Vermont. Alas, the LDS has no film for the Randolph town records (meaning minutes of the town meetings and that sort of thing). Well. Almena Powers, my great-great grandsister, married Henry Hogaboam at Randolph in December of 1812 (the LDS does have a film of the marriage records, so I have a photocopy of this). Then in September of 1815, Henry, now spelled Hogeboome, took the freeman's oath with his new brother-in-law Jonathan Powers at Guildhall, Essex, Vermont. I wish to stress that everyone involved was not where they were supposed to be, and by the way the town clerks had a merry time trying to spell Hogaboam. Back at the 1812 wedding, Henry Hogaboam and Almena Powers were "both of Randolph," thus residents and citizens of that place with the leaky Bethel border. The big questions are, Where did Henry come from? And when did he arrive at Randolph? And, for that matter, what was Almena Powers doing there???? Who was she staying with? Neither the blushing bride nor the gloating groom belonged at Randolph. If you see the town clerk, a warning out or a freeman's oath for Henry Hogaboam (spelling's wild) would be super. Or any other signs of the presence of Henry Hogaboam. Or Almena. Got the marriage record but nothing else. Family legend has it that Henry's dad went up to homestead in Canada (Ontario), alone, then after awhile sent word back to Saratoga Springs, New York, for his wife and kids to join him up there. The wife and kids made the journey in 1810, but there was an accident at Lake Champlain that killed mom and a couple of the kids. The remaining kids were boarded somewhere near the lake until dad could come to fetch them. Meanwhile, young Henry, age twentysomething, ran off to Vermont for no reason, leaving his now motherless and marooned siblings behind, and two years later in 1812 married the fair and radiant Almena Powers, who had no business in Randolph either. Almena was a daughter of William Powers and Anna Burtch of Hartford, Windsor County, Vermont. The family had gone to Quebec in 1803 to cash in on a cheap land offer. But, eventually War loomed, and the Powers got their tails outta Quebec early in 1812. They returned to Vermont, settling at Guildhall, Essex Co. for no reason, and stayed there until about 1816 when they were run out of town on a rail for allegedly swindling the Johnson orphans. Anyway, in 1812 daughter Almena was supposed to be at Guildhall because her family wasn't supposed to be there but were anyway. She was at Randolph instead. Shame on her. Also at Randolph around the 1812 time slot was Almena's sister Anna Powers, wife of Seth Dexter. Anna had married Seth before the Powers moved to Quebec, so she did belong at Randolph -- the only one of the gang who was properly located. Two of Almena and Anna's uncles were at Randolph as well, Ephraim and Edy Burtch. These two were supposed to be at Hartford, but weren't, which gets us back to having loose firepower on deck again. Seth Dexter was a cabinetmaker at Randolph Center. The Burtch deeds suggest they were more or less on the porous Bethel border or near Randolph Center (landmarks on some deeds include the meetinghouse, a school, and a tavern), or both. Ephraim Burtch may have also been located in the Randolph jail for awhile, about 1807, which I suppose must have been at the village. The problem is to make some kind of sense out of all this. Also to find proof that the various Powers and Burtchs really were related to each other -- that they were a family is still just theory. And to figure out who Henry Hogaboam was, where he came from, and when. If you can find stuff, I'd be grateful. It's a mess, I know. But messes make things interesting. Lester Powers ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!