Newport Town, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
The town of Newport was chartered on October 30, 1802 by the Vermont Legislature. The town was originally named Duncansborough, after one of several Duncans named in the grant, all of whom appear to have lived in Dummerston. The petition was in 1780 and the grant a year later, but the charter was not issued for another twenty years.

The 1816 Legislature added two parcels of land to Duncansborough: Coventry Leg and part of the old town of Salem. As for the new name, it is possible that post-Revolutionary settlers from New Hampshire or Rhode Island brought Newport with them; it may also be a combination reference to the "new" town and the presence of Lake Memphremagog.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of major cemeteries in present-day Newport. For location of all cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Orleans County, website at this link.


 * Lake Road Street Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Newport Center Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Wrights Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Newport Town Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Orleans County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Vermont were the Congregational, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Methodist churches. For general information about Vermont denominations, view the New Hampshire Church Records wiki page. To see the churches in Newport Town, visit. Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. The following are church records available online for the town of Newport Town:

St. Mark's Church (Newport, Vermont) Records, 1875-1940, are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

City Directories

 * Newport City, Town or Village directories for 1884, 1896, 1916, 1925, 1930

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Newport Town:

Libraries and Historical Societies
Northeast Kingdom Genealogy - Genealogy resources for towns in the counties of Essex, Orleans and Caledonia.

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of Newport Town:

1878 map of Newport Town

1878 map of Newport Center Town

Newspapers
The Newport Daily Express

Probate Records
In Vermont, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of Newport Town:

Orleans Probate Division 247 Main Street Newport, VT · 05855 Phone: (802) 334-3305

Town Histories

 * Newport, Vermont : 175 years since settlement, 50 years since city charter, 1793-1968, - find this book in a library.
 * Frontier Crossroads, by Emily M Nelson (1977) - find this book in a library.

Town Records
In Vermont, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town. These records may include the following: The following are Newport Town town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1797 -1918, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Newport Town Clerk's Office. These include Deeds, 1797-1851, and Deeds, 1850-1879; index to deeds, 1852-1883.

Town Clerk
The town clerk is responsible for these records, and so most originals can be found at the town clerk's office.

Newport Town Clerk 102 Vance Hill Road P.O. Box 85 Newport Center, VT 05857 Phone: 802) 334-6442 Email: nctownclerk@comcast.net

Vital Records
FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.