Williamstown, Orange County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Williamstowm was granted its charter on August 9, 1781 by the Vermont State Legislature. Among the early landowners was Elijah Paine who served as Williamstown's first moderator and Representative to the General Assembly, eventually becoming a Vermont Supreme Court Justice, a U.S. Senator from Vermont and a Judge of the U.S. District Court.

The inventor Thomas Davenport, born in Williamstown in 1802, trained as a blacksmith's apprentice before moving to Brandon. He there developed the world's first electric motor which he patented in 1837.

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


 * East Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Flint Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Williamstown Village Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Williamstown Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * Orange 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 Williamstown, 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 Williamstown:

Historical Data
A history of Williamstown, Vermont, 1781-1991, Williamstown Historical Society - find this book in a library.

Williamstown my own : the history of Williamstown, Vermont, 1781-2012, Williamstown Historical Society - find this book in a library.

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
Ainsworth Public Library P.O. Box 236 Williamstown, VT 05679 Phone: (802) 433-5887 Email: library@williamstownvt.org Website: http://ainsworthpubliclibrary.wordpress.com/

The Williamstown Historical Society Main Street P.O. Box 338 - Route 14 Williamstown, Vermont 05679 Wbsite: http://www.williamstownvt.org/histsoc.html

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of Williamstown:

1877 map of Williamstown

Newspapers
The Herald of Randolph

Valley News

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

The probate district for Williamstown is Orange. Orange Probate Court 5 Court St Chelsea VT 05038 Phone: (802) 685-4610

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 Williamstown town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1770-1967, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Williamstown Town Clerk's Office. These include Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1770-1997, and Land records, 1782-1880, 1783-1857.

Town Clerk PO Box 646 2470 VT RT 14 Williamstown, VT 05679 Phone: (802) 433-5455 Email: clerk@williamstownvt.org Website: http://www.williamstownvt.org/

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

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