Waterbury, Washington County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
The charter for Waterbury was granted on June 7, 1763. There have always been three distinct villages: Waterbury, Waterbury Center and Colbyville, which was a busy little place in the 19th Century.

The Colby brothers of Bolton bought an old factory and then invented a machine which would strip the bark from willow stock, and in 1856 began operating what is thought to be the first willow manufacturing plant in the United States which was chiefly used in the construction of carriage bodies.

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


 * Demeritt Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hope Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Johnson Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Loomis Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old Waterbury Center Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Vermont State Hospital Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Waterbury Center Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Waterbury Town Clerk Cemetery Records, 1621-1869, and 1877 are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.


 * Waterbury 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 Waterbury, 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 Waterbury:

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
Waterbury Public Library 28 North Main Street Waterbury Village Phone: (802) 244-7036 Website: http://waterburypubliclibrary.com/

Waterbury Historical Society P.O. Box 708 Waterbury, VT 05676 Email: WaterburyHistoricalSociety@gmail.com Website: http://www.waterburyhistoricalsociety.org/

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

1873 map of Waterbury

Newspapers
Burlington Free Press

The Barre Montpelier Times-Argus

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

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

Town Histories

 * History of Waterbury, Vermont, 1763-1915, by Theodore G. Lewis (1915) - view a digital copy online.
 * Waterbury History by Frances P. Spaulding

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 Waterbury town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital Records, 1897-1947, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images)

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Waterbury Town Clerk's Office. These include Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1868-1988; indexes to births, marriages, deaths, 1761-1997, Town records, v. 2, 1784-1857, Land records, 1790-1850, and Deeds, 1850-1885.

Waterbury Town Clerk 51 South Main Street Waterbury, VT 05676

Physical Address: Main Street Fire Station, 2nd Floor 43 South Main Street Waterbury, VT 05676

Phone: (802) 244-8447 Website: http://www.waterburyvt.com/clerk/

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.