Grand Isle, Grand Isle County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Grand Isle was chartered on October 27, 1779 by the Vermont Legislature. It is one of four towns (Isle La Motte, Grand Isle, North Hero, and South Hero) comprising Vermont's "Lake Champlain Islands."

Originally, North Hero, South Hero and Grand Isle were granted to Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick and 363 other Revolutionary War veterans as a single town known as Two Heroes.

In 1798, Two Heroes was divided into North Hero (the entire north island), Middle Hero and South Hero, with the last two sharing the southern island and a single representative to the legislature, hence they were not actually separate towns. This arrangement was not entirely satisfactory: in 1810, Middle Hero was given complete autonomy and renamed Grand Isle, which is what the French had originally called the whole southern island.

Grand-Isle and South Hero formed a part of Chittenden County until 1802, while the remaining three towns of Alburgh, Isle-La. Motte, and North Hero, formed a part of the County of Franklin. In 1801, the subject of forming a new county, to be called the "County of Grand-Isle," was discussed and on Nov. 9, 1802, the new county was incorporated. It was not until October, 1805, that the county was organized for the transaction of all legal public business as a county.

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


 * Grand Isle Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hoag Cemetery - inscriptions a Find A Grave site.
 * Macomber Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Quaker Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Grand Isle Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Grand Isle 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 Grand Isle, 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 Grand Isle:

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Grand Isle:

Libraries and Historical Societies
Grand Isle Free Library 9 Hyde Rd. Grand Isle, VT 05458 Phone: (802) 372-4797 Email: grandislefreelibrary@hotmail.com Website: http://grandislefreelibraryvt.wordpress.com/

Grand Isle Historical Society PO Box 23 Grand Isle, VT 05458 Phone: (802) 372-4058

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of Grand Isle:

1871 map of Grand Isle and South Hero

Newspapers
St. Albans Messenger

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

Grand Isle Probate Division 3677 U.S. Route 2 PO Box 7 North Hero VT 05474 Phone: (802) 372-8350

Town Histories

 * History of the South Hero Island : being the towns of South Hero and Grand Isle, Vermont, by Allen L Stratton (1980) - find this book in a library.
 * A History of the town of Grand Isle, by Jan Bender (1991) - 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 Grand Isle town records available online:


 * Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1799-1897, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).
 * The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Grand Isle Town Clerk's Office. These include: Vital records, Grand Isle, Vermont, 1744-Jan. 2001, and Deeds, 1799-1900; index to deeds, 1799-1949.

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

Grand Isle Town Clerk 9 Hyde Rd. Grand Isle, VT 05458 Phone: (802) 372-8830 Email: clerk@town.grand-isle.vt.us Website: http://www.grandislevt.org/

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