Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Swanton, Vermont at Wikipedia

Swanton was chartered on August 17, 1763. It is located in the northwestern corner of the state bordering Lake Champlain on its west and Quebec Province in Canada on its north. Within the town is located the villages of Swanton and Fonda, as well as most of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge.

Swanton is one of the few places in Vermont where Natives are known to have had a permanent settlement. From about 1700 to 1758, the important Abnaki village of Missisiasuk was on the Missisquoi River. The village's name, meaning "people of the great grassy meadows", helps to bear out the translation of Missiquoi itself as "great grassy meadows". The Abnaki name for the mouth of the river was Maskwenozakek, literally "the place where muskelunge abound", which would have been a good enough reason in itself for establishing a village nearby.

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

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

Town of Swanton 1 Academy St. P.O. Box 711 Swanton, VT 05488 Phone: (802) 868-7418 Email: townadmin@swantonvermont.org Website: http://townofswantonvermont.weebly.com/

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

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


 * Church Street Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Greens Corners Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Janes Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * North End Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Riverside Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Marys Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Woods Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Swanton Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Franklin 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 Swanton, 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 Swanton:

Swanton, Vermont Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Service Record Book, 1907-1923 is available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

City Directories

 * 1895-1947 Vermont, U.S., City Directories, Swanton at Ancestry - index and images ($),some years may be missing
 * St. Albans &amp; Swanton, Vermont City Directories, (1886-1887,1891-1892,1895-1910, 1914,1915), are available on microfilm at the Family History Library. These films can be oreder online.
 * Swanton, Vermont City Directories, 1895, 1938, 1947, are available at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index and images ($) some towns and years may be missing

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

Swanton, Vermont, Land Records, 1883-1903, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).

Local Histories

 * Research Guide for the Town of Swanton, Vermont, by Allan Levorsen (1987) - view a digital copy of this book online.
 * Historical Photos of Swanton, courtesy of the Swanton Historical Society.


 * The history of the town of Swanton, by Perry and Barney (1882) - view a digital copy of this book online.
 * The history of Swanton, Vermont, by Rodney R. Ledoux (1988) - view a digital copy of this book online.
 * An Outline of Swanton’s History, courtesy of the Swanton Historical Society.

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
 * Old Maps of Vermont at Old-Maps.com
 * Swanton at Mapcarta
 * Vermont Maps State Page


 * 1871 map of Swanton and Swanton Town
 * Sheldon East Junction Town

Military
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
St. Albans Messenger Vermont Online Historical Newspapers

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 Swanton town records available online:


 * Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1799-2000, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).
 * Swanton, Vermont Death Certificates and Burial Permits, 2000-2006, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).
 * The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Swanton Town Clerk's Office. These include: Town and vital records, 1790-1823, Town records, 1823-1903, and Land records, 1790-1890; index, 1790-1895.

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

Franklin Probate Division 17 Church St. St. Albans, VT 05478 Phone: (802) 524-7948

Franklin County, Vermont Probate Records, 1860-1910, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).

Libraries
Swanton Public Library 1 1st St. Swanton, VT 05488 Phone:(802) 868-7656 Email: wantonpub@yahoo.com Website: http://www.swantonlibrary.org/

Societies
Swanton Historical Society 58 S River St. P.O. Box 235 Swanton, VT 05488 Phone: (802) 868-5436 Website: http://www.swantonhistoricalsociety.org/