Duxbury, Washington County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Duxbury was chartered on June 7, 1763. It wasn't until 1786, twenty-three years after the charter was granted, that Walter Avery and Stephen Tilden settled in Duxbury. By 1790, when the first U.S. Census was taken, Duxbury had 39 inhabitants.

The years 1850-1860 marked a high point for the town of Duxbury; the 1860 population of one thousand residents would not be reached again until the 1990's. There was a variety of reasons for the decline of towns like Duxbury. Most important, perhaps, was the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted 160 fertile acres in the Midwest to anyone who would homestead for a certain number of years.

From its beginnings, Duxbury was divided by its topography into small communities which include Duxbury Corner, North Duxbury, Durkeeville, Scrabble Hill, and South Duxbury.

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


 * Crossett Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Duxbury Corner Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Graves Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Holy Cross Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Landon-Hayden Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Phillips Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * South Duxbury Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

The Duxbury Historical Society newsletter "Under the Hump" issue 4, November 2006, http://duxburyvt.com/download/vol04.pdf has a description of the cemeteries in the area.


 * Duxbury Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Washington 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 Duxbury, 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 Duxbury:

Congregational Church (Duxbury, Vermont) Records, 1835-1900, are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
Duxbury, VT Historical Society

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

1873 map of Duxbury

Newspapers
Burlington Free Press

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

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

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 Duxbury town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1903-1988, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Duxbury Town Clerk's Office. These include Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1883-1997; indexes to births, marriages, deaths, 1775-1997, Index to records of birth, death and marriage, 1788-1909 approx., Records of marriage, birth and death, 1840-1882 approx., and  Land records, 1770-1876.

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

Duxbury Town Clerk 5421 Vermont 100 Duxbury, VT 05676 Phone: (802) 244-6660 Website: http://www.duxburyvermont.org/

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