The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1908-12-18
THE NAME VERMONT.
Not Given by Champlain, but by Wind
sor Convention of June 4, 1777.

| see in the report Of the debate In
the assembly on the tercentenary bill, the
following:
'sMr. Martin of Brookline wanted TO
know if il was not Samuel de Cham
plain who named Vermont, and MIR. Ba'
con of Hartford replied that it was"
Perhaps it may be well to correct the
error, which il the report Is accurate,
was here made. 1t was not Champaign,
the discoverer of the lake in 1909, who
named Vermont" for Vermont was not
in existence till III. Up till that time
name at all, had been commonly called
and known by the name of the New
Hampshire grants" 1t was SO designat-
ed by the Dorset convention of Septem-
Der %, l776. The Westminster conven.
ton of Jan. Is, III, in its declaration OF
independence spoke of it by that name,
but declared that the state was here
after to be called by the name of New
connecticut" The Windsor convention
which met June 4, HI, passed resolu.
ton that it should hereafter be called
ana known by the name OF Vermont,
giving in the preamble as the. reason for
the change that district OF land on the
Susquehanna river had been named and
was known by that name, and that 1t
would be announcement for two districts
to bear the same name.
Ira Allen, in his history OF Vermont,
states that DIR. Thomas Young Of Phila-
delphia suggested the name of Vermont.
1t was probably from him that the in
formation came OF the existence OF pre-
vious use of the name of New Connect
cut His letter addressed under the date
of April II, III, ITO the inhabitants OF
Vermont, a free and independent state,
pounung on the river Connecticut and
Lake Champlain,' was written two
months before that name was. adopted
bv the Westminster convention, but
doubtless assurances had been given to
him that the name would be accepted.
The credit for naming Vernon. :
should therefore be. given to. DIR. Young
instead of Samuel de Champlain.
Young Vermonters that Champlain on
the map of his discoveries, called the
which he had seen at the
east Verd Mont, or Green mountains.
1t would seem strange that he should
have given that name to mountains
which he says in his narrative were
capped with snow" and an examination
of two charts, one attached to the Paris
edition of Champlain's voyages of 1862,
anu one attached to the republication OF
them published in Quebec in 1870, shows
that they give no support to the state
ment.
But the mountains certainly bore the
name of Green mountains when the con-
Test rose between New York and the
settlers of the New Hampshire grants;
when the settlers formed their, irregular
organization to resist the agrees
sions Of New York, it was quite, natural
hat they should Familiarity call them
selves Green Mountain boys.
Ira Allen in note to his history OF
Vermont says that this name was given
TO the state by Dr. Young '.as an EN-,
1lematic one from the French of Verd
Mont, green mountains, intended to per-
oetuate the name of the Green Mountain
boys"
raced between Champlain and the nam
ng of Vermont, it is (even if he did
rive the name to the mountains) only a |
emote one coming through the name and |
anne of the Green Mountain boys to DR.. |
\ oung.-R. d. Benedict, in letter to |
ne Burlington Free Press.