Hiram Carleton, a prominent Vermont judge and six-time president of the Vermont Historical Society, was commissioned by the Lewis Publishing Company to prepare this magisterial collection of illustrated biographical/genealogical essays of noted Vermonters and their families. At the outset of the first volume we are provided with an Introduction explaining Vermont's unique place among the states and drawing attention to milestones in its history. Then commence the sketches, most of which focus on a contemporary of the compiler. In some cases, the essays offer a derivation or origin for the surname of that essay. In all cases, the family history is traced forward from the oldest known ancestor of the line to the family member (living or memorialized) featured in the sketch, for whom, in turn, a biography--often with photograph--is provided. This is followed, frequently, by additional, collateral lines linked to the subject of the essay. Many of the lineages go back to 16th-century England, still others brim with connections to Massachusetts and the other New England states, yet on the whole they constitute a totally unique assemblage of Vermont families. Finally, while the work as a whole contains upwards of 30,000 references to kith and kin, the name indexes found at the front of the two volumes identify nearly 1,200 principal descendants of the main families.