Closing Court Houses
About two weeks ago, I finally had some spare time to make a call to the Fair Haven Probate Court, in Vermont. My goal for the call, find out where to get a copy of John O’Connell’s probate records and what it would cost me.
What I learned on this quick call was that the smaller courts of Vermont are being closed down and consolidated into the bigger courts. It is a sad day when our government cannot afford to keep the doors open on court houses. The Fair Haven Probate Court has been open for 200 years. The history held within those walls should be enough to want to keep the doors open to the public. It is just sad, sad, sad!
The woman who I spoke with was nice enough to tell me that all records had been boxed up and were awaiting their pick up on the following Monday. She gave me the number to call to find out what would happen to the records. She told me my best bet would be to wait until the end of February or early March before I make that call.
With all the research I have done this far, I have not gone into court records. This was my first attempt. Of course, because I was researching the O’Connell line, it only makes sense that there would be something to hold me big a bit longer. Come March, I will make that call and hopefully be able to order a copy of these records.