Montpelier, Washington County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Montpelier was selected as the capital of Vermont in 1805 after considerable squabbling among many towns; there had been no permanent capital since becoming a state 14 years earlier.

After construction of the capitol building in what was then the village of Montpelier, village residents began to agitate for a separate identity. In 1848 the Legislature divided the original town in two: Montpelier and East Montpelier. The former got most of the people, the seat of state government and the choice river valley location; the latter got most of the land but little else. In 1895, the Town of Montpelier was further incorporated as a city.

Town Histories

 * Montpelier : the capital city's history, 1780-1976, Perry H. Merrill (1977) - find this book in a library.
 * The history of the town of Montpelier : including that of the town of East Montpelier, for the first one hundred and two years, A.M. Hemenway (1882) - a digital copy of this book is available online.
 * History of the town of Montpelier : from the time it was first chartered in 1781 to the year 1860 : together with biographical sketches of its most noted deceased citizens, D.P. Thompson (1860) - a digital copy of this book is available online.

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

Probate Records
The probate district for Montpelier is Washington. Washington District Probate Court 10 Elm St. #3 Montpelier, VT 05602 Phone: (802) 828-3405

Church Records
Christ Episcopal Church (Montpelier, Vermont) Parish registers, v. 2-4, 1866-1920 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

City Directories

 * Montpelier (Vermont) city directories, 1904-1921, are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.
 * Montpelier (Vermont) city directories, 1890-1942, are available at Ancestry.com ($)

Maps
1873 map of North Montpelier

1873 map of South Montpelier

1873 map of Montpelier and West Montpelier

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


 * Elm Street Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Green Mount Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Plainmont Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Popular Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Augustine Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Town Records
Vital Records, 1894 -1998, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

Birth, death and marriage record indexes in the Montpelier City Clerk's office can be viewed through online.

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Montpelier City Clerk's Office. These include Births recorded in Montpelier beginning with settlement of the town, 1759-1902, Deaths recorded in Montpelier beginning with the settlement of the town, 1789-1902, Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1759-1998, Marriage records index, 1791-1861, Land records, 1788-1885 and Town records, 1759-1863.

Montpelier City Clerk 39 Main Street Montpelier, VT 05602 Phone: (802) 223-9500 Wmail: jodum@montpelier-vt.org Website: http://www.montpelier-vt.org/department/3/City-Clerk.html

Newspapers
Burlington Free Press

The Barre Montpelier Times-Argus

Libraries and Historical Societies
Kellogg Hubbard Library 135 Main St. Montpelier, VT 05602 Phone: (802) 223-3338 Email: info@kellogghubbard.org Website: http://www.kellogghubbard.org/

Montpelier Historical Society P.O. Box 52 Montpelier, VT 05602 Email: info@montpelierhistory.org Website: http://www.montpelierhistory.org/