Vermont History from A Child's Perspective

Francois Debussey, age 13
July 8, 1609- Lake Champlain, Abenaki Nation

Dear Diary,
We sailed into a wonderful place today! A lake! A huge lake, the expanse of blue water seeming to stretch on forever! And there are enormous mountains on either side of the lake, both to the east and the west. Everyone on board was excited to see this new place. We left France three months ago for the New World, to claim land for our country. Once we got here, we sailed down a large seaway, and that's how we discovered the lake. Monsieur de Champlain claimed the lake and the surrounding area for France, and named the lake after himself, Lake Champlain. I'm very glad now that I was chosen to be the ship's boy on this voyage, because otherwise I would never have had the chance to see this wonderful new land! I can't wait to tell my family and friends all about it when I get back home to France!

Richie Walter, age 10
January 14, 1731

Dear Diary,
Last night was horrible. Everything in our settlement is gone, all the cabins, the people, everything. We all had to leave. In the middle of the night, two Indians set fire to our neighbors' cabin. I heard the crackling sound, and leaped out of my bed and ran to the window to see what it was. I saw the blaze, and ran into my parents' bedroom, shouting to wake them up. I told them what was happening, and Pa said we had to leave at once. I ran to get Carrie from her crib, and we quickly grabbed whatever we could from the house. Outside, all the other families in the settlement were running around in confusion, trying to figure out where to go. Almost all the cabins were on fire by then. Pa, Ma, Carrie, and me started looking for a safe place to spend the night. We ended up sleeping in the woods nearby.
Our home, all our things, gone. It's still hard to believe. But we'll start over. We'll find a way, somehow.

Elizabeth Channing, age 11

July 9, 1816- Burlington

Dear Diary,
Times are so bad right now. Almost everyone in our town has spotted fever because of the soldiers that came through Burlington a couple of weeks ago. Pa has it, and so does Tommy. I'm so scared. I don't know what's going to happen to them. If they die, I don't know how Ma and me would manage on our own. I don't like to think of my family dying. Sally's mother died from spotted fever. I don't go over there to play anymore, because people are always crying. It makes me sad. I don't want that to happen to my family. Being scared is bad enough, but the feeling of not knowing what to expect is worse.
The summer has been so cold, that most of our crops are dying. It's almost as if summer isn't here at all. We hardly have enough to eat, or enough money to buy food in town. Times are worse for us than I've ever seen. Will they ever get better?

By Sarah Caum

Sources: Vermont: A History by Charles T. Morrissey