Very early court matters may have been taken either to Boston, MA, Portsmouth, NH or to Albany, NY. After 1768, when Cumberland County was created, legal matters could be settled at Chester, VT, where there were courts of common pleas and of quarter sessions. Matters involving higher court jurisdiction were taken to Portsmouth or Albany depending on the allegiance of the parties to New Hampshire or New York. Gloucester County was created 16 March 1770. The Gloucester court records for 1770-1774 were published in The Upper Connecticut (Vt. Coll. F46 V53 v. 2) by the Vermont Historical Society. Cumberland and Gloucester counties were discontinued, and the present-day Vermont counties were established from them:
Bennington 1779
Windham 1781
Windsor 1781
Orange 1781
Rutland 1781
Addison 1785
Chittenden 1787
Caledonia 1792
Essex 1792
Franklin 1792
Orleans 1792
Grand Isle 1802
Washington 1810 (formerly Jefferson County until 1814)
Lamoille 1835