Brandon Museum & Rec co-host program on Vermont’s darker history: eugenics

Vermont has a national reputation for progressive politics with an emphasis on individual freedom. But there have been eras in Vermont’s past, even within living memory, when the state itself took actions that seemed to run completely counter to today’s commitment to civil rights.

Lost Names, Part 27: Gilbar, Gilbert, Bushee, and Cornstock

Several years ago, Roberta (Wright) Mills of Florence asked me to explore the genealogy of her great-great-grandfather Eli Gilbar to see if we could find any evidence of Native American ancestry. While no traces of Native American forebears have yet surfaced in this family, Eli nonetheless emerged as opportunity to investigate another lost French-Canadian surname.

Back to Top