February's featured County of the Month is a pioneer NYGenWeb site, Washington County. We say "pioneer" as its Coordinator Laura Hulslander has been continuous with the project since October1996. Laura was first to present online researchers with particular kinds of items - maps, specialized articles about villages and townships, and was one of the first to set up a system of archiving back queries.

Due to personal circumstances Laura's site has not grown as much as she intended. But she wants you all to know that she is doing well and the site continues to give her much pleasure. Washington County researchers and other coordinators have come to appreciate Laura's personal touch and personal service when asking her advice. She is one of the few NYGenWeb coordinators who comes from a commercial history and genealogy background, owning her own company, The Sleeper Company. Over the years a remarkable number of Washington County and northeastern NY State primary resources have been transcribed by Laura from the original. She's been generous with her look-ups from these, advising of further directions or novel resources, always giving the tools and insight to dig deeper on your own regardless of where you're searching. Laura remembers who's researching who, occasionally remembers who you asked her about a thousand emails later, and puts people in touch with each other.

Washington County holds a special place in the history of the Eastern half of the state as it was settled early and subject to boundary change. Washington separated from the mother county of Albany in 1772, and was known as the historic county of Charlotte until a name change in 1784. In turn, Washington was a mother county, giving rise to Clinton and Warren Counties. Due to geographic location along the eastern border, it's history is inseparable from that of present-day western Vermont, as settlers moved back and forth between both states and debate over the boundary was not settled until 1790. When researching Washington County ancestors, it's wise to check out the townships of Rutland, Bennington and Addison Counties, Vermont. During the French and Indian War and the Revolution, residents of the areas around Ft. Ann and Ft. Edward were witness to men of both sides streaming through from all directions. The events surrounding the advance of General Burgoyne's army in 1777 have been well-documented, a proud history shared with neighboring Vermont.

Most of the children of the pre-1800 Scottish, Irish and New England pioneers eventually moved west, notably into the Finger Lakes and Central New York area and beyond. If your earliest ancestors said that they were born in NY State prior to 1800, and some of their siblings were born in New England, take a good look at Washington County and it's neighboring counties. For this county in particular, many records have been preserved from a time period that is difficult to research - and much credit goes to Laura Hulslander for making them accessible to us. Follow this link to Washington County, and follow Laura's links.

Visit Past Featured Counties of the Month

Proud to be sponsored by Rootsweb Genealogical Data Cooperative.

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