Orwell, Addison County, Vermont Genealogy

Guide to Orwell, Addison ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish register transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Description
Orwell, Vermont at Wikipedia

Orwell was chartered on August 18, 1763. No settlement occurred in town for another eight years, however.

The first settler is recorded as John Charter, a Scotsman who took up residence near what was then known as Rattlesnake Hill, now Mount Independence, in 1771.

By the mid-1770's, a few families were living in town, clearing land for fields and building rudimentary shelters for themselves and their livestock. With the start of the Revolutionary War, most residents returned to the safer, established communities to the south.

Further settlement did not commence until the close of the war.

The British burned nearly all of the buildings in town--and indeed the entire area---before the end of the war. No pre-revolution structures survive in Orwell today.

Populated Places
Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities, Districts, and Census-Designated Places:

Town Records
In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

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

Orwell Town Clerk PO Box 32 Orwell, VT 05760 Phone: (802) 948-2032 Website: http://www.town-of-orwell.org/

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Biographies

 * Biographical Encyclopædia of Vermont of the Nineteenth Century. By H Clay Williams. Boston, Massachusetts: Metropolitan Publishing & Engraving Company, 1885. Salt Lake City, Utah : Family Search International, 2018. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Biographical Sketches of Vermonters. By Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, Vermont : Vermont Historical Society, c1947. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. By Hiram Carleton. New York, New York: Lewis Pub. Co., 1903. Online at:.
 * Some Vermont Ancestors: The Bicentennial Project of the Genealogical Society of Vermont. Compiled and ed. by Joann H. Nichols. [S.l.]: Genealogical Society of Vermont, 1976. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: a Magazine Embracing a History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military. By ed. by Abby Maria Hemenway. Burlington, Vermont: A.M. Hemenway, 1868-1923. Online at:.
 * The Vermont of Today: With its Historic Background, Attractions and People. By Arthur F. Stone. New York, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., c1929. Online at:.
 * Vermonters. By Dorman B.E. Kent. Tucson, Arizona: W.C. Cox & Co., 1974. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Vermont Biography at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Orwell. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Addison County, website at this link.


 * Coats Cemetery - inscriptions found at Find A Grave site.
 * Hack Cemetery - inscriptions found at Find A Grave site.
 * Lake View Cemetery - inscriptions found at Find A Grave site.
 * Mountain View Cemetery - inscriptions found at Find A Grave site.
 * North Cemetery - inscriptions found at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Pauls Cemetery - inscriptions found at Find A Grave site.
 * Smith Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Orwell Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Addison County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Census

 * Vermont Census at FamilySearch Research Wiki

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 Orwell, 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 Orwell:

City Directories

 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index and images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Court Records

 * Judiciary of Vermont at Wikipedia
 * Vermont Judiciary, Resources for Media at vermont.gov, ($) - click on Records Request
 * United States District Court for the District of Vermont at Wikipedia
 * Vermont Court Records at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Land Records

 * 1600s-1900s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($),
 * Vermont Land and Property
 * 1774-1926 (*) Addison County (Vermont). County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
 * Vermont Land and Property

Local Histories

 * A history of the town of Orwell, Vermont, by the Orwell Historical Society (1988) - view digital copy of this book online.
 * History of the town of Orwell, Vt., from 1763 to 1851, by Roswell Bottum - find this book in a library.
 * Vintage Photos of Orwell, VT

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * Boundary Map of Orwell at HomeTownLocator
 * McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
 * Old Maps of Vermont at Old-Maps.com
 * Orwell at FamilySearch Places
 * Orwell at Google Maps
 * Orwell at Mapcarta
 * Town of Orwell at Vermont.org
 * Vermont Maps State Page


 * 1871 Map of Orwell Township

Military
Searchable by Town Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
 * United States Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Civil War, 1861-1865
For more Civil War Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865
 * United States Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865

World War I, 1917-1918
For more World War I Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918
 * United States Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918

World War II, 1941-1945
For more World War II Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
 * United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Newspapers
Addison County Independent ($) Burlington Free Press Rutland Herald
 * Free Online Newspapers for Research at libraries.vermont.gov
 * List of Newspapers in Vermont at Wikipedia
 * Newspapers of Record at Vermont State Archives & Records Administration
 * Vermont Newspapers at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Obituaries

 * 1800s-current U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1980-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 2003-2014 (*) NewsBank (Naples, Florida) at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
 * Vermont Obituaries at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Other 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 Orwell town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1802-1887, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Orwell Town Clerk's Office. These include Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1883-1997; indexes to births, marriages, deaths, 1857-1997, Town records, 1787-1791 and Index of births, deaths &amp; marriages recorded in early land records, 1829-1854.

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

The probate district for Orwell is Addison. Addison Probate Court 7 Mahady Court Middlebury, VT 05753 Phone: (802) 388-2612
 * 1749-1999 Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1800-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Vermont Probate Records

Tax Records

 * 1861-1866 (*) United States. Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
 * Vermont Taxation at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Libraries
Orwell Free Library 473 Main St Orwell, VT Phone: (802) 948-2041 Email: OrwellFreeLibrary@gmail.com Website: http://orwellfreelibrary.org/

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Essex Vermont Family History Center
 * Montpelier Vermont Family History Center
 * Rutland Vermont Family History Center
 * South Royalton Vermont Family History Center
 * Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Thornton Public Library - New Hampshire - an affiliate library
 * Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society - an affiliate library