Bradford, Orange County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Bradford was chartered on May 3, 1770 (New York Patent). Referred to as Waitstown and Waits River Town before its original patent as Mooretown, Bradford is unique in Vermont in that it was settled before any grant, charter or patent existed to cover the land. The name Mooretown is after Sir Henry Moore, the Royal Governor of New York.

After the Revolution, the residents of Mooretown decided they no longer wanted the name to remind them of a royal governor, so they petitioned the Vermont Legislature to rename it Bradford.

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


 * Sawyer Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Upper Plain Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Bradford Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Wrights Mountain Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Bradford, Vt. burials, 1770-October 1997 - available on microfilm at the Family History Library.


 * Bradford Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * 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 Bradford, 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 Bradford:


 * Early church records and marriages in the town of Bradford from 1810 - available on microfilm at the Family History Library.
 * Church records, 1863-1913 - avaiable on microfilm at the Family History Library.

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
Bradford Public Library P.O. Box 619 21 South Main St. Bradford, VT 05033 Phone: (802) 222-4536 E-mail: bradfordpubliclibrary@gmail.com Website: http://bradfordvtlibrary.org/

Bradford Historical Society 67 Summer Street Bradford, VT 05033 Phone: (802) 222-4011 Email: lccoffin@charter.net Website: http://www.bradford-vt.us/historical.php

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

1877 map of Bradford Town Center

1877 map of Bradford

Newspapers
The Herald of Randolph

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

The probate district for Bradford is Orange (Bradford District consoladated in 1994). Orange Probate Court 5 Court St Chelsea VT 05038 Phone: (802) 685-4610

, - view digital images at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Town Histories
Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town.


 * A history of Bradford, Vermont: covering the period from its beginning in 1765 to the middle of 1968, by Harold W Haskins - find this book in a library.
 * A history of Bradford, Vermont, by Silas McKeen (1875) - view a digital book online.

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 Bradford town records available online:

at FamilySearch (browse only images).

Bradford, land records, 1852-1900, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Bradford Town Clerk's Office. These include Deeds and town records, 1775-1852; index to deeds, 1762-1876, Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1857-1998; indexes to births, deaths, marriages, 1857-1997, Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1803-1860 and Bradford, vital records, 1997-2006.

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

Bradford Town Clerk 172 N Main St. Bradford, VT 05033 Phone: (802) 222-4727 Email: clerk@bradford-vt.us Website: http://www.bradford-vt.us/

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