Orange County, Vermont Genealogy

Guide to Orange County, Vermont ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
The County is located in the east center area of the state.

County Courthouse
Orange County Courthouse 5 Court Street Chelsea, VT 05038 802-685-4610 Orange County Website

Town Clerks have birth, marriage, death, burial and land records. County Clerk has divorce and court records from 1781 and land records from 1771. Probate Judge has probate records from 1771.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Extinct Town
 * Norfolk

Census Records
A transcript of the 1771 census of Gloucester (NY) survives:
 * O'Callaghan, Edmund B. Documentary History of the State of New York Vol. 4 (1851):709. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

 * 1762-1888 Gazetteer of Orange County, Vermont, 1762-1888 (1888) at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Civil War
 * 1861-1867 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Regiments. Regiments and Companies:
 * - 2nd Regiment, Vermont Infantry
 * - 4th Regiment, Vermont Infantry, Companies B and K

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1749-1999 Vermont Wills and Probate Records 1749-1999 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)
 * 1800-1921 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Orange County Probate Districts:
 * Randolph District - Braintree, Brookfield, Chelsea, Orange, Randolph, Tunbridge, Washington and Williamstown.
 * Bradford District Bradford, Corinth, Fairlee, Newbury, Strafford, Thetford, Topsham, Vershire and West Fairlee.
 * Orange District - in 1994 the Randolph and Bradford Districts merged under the Orange District.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Town Records

 * 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Birth

 * 1732-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1760-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1760-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1765-1908 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Marriage

 * 1732-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1760-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1760-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1791-1974 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

Death

 * 1732-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1760-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1760-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1871-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index

FamilySearch Centers

 * Montpelier Vermont FamilySearch Center
 * South Royalton Vermont FamilySearch Center
 * Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Thornton Public Library - New Hampshire - an affiliate library

Societies
Historical Societies
 * Bradford Historical Society Woods Academy Building 172 North Main Street Bradford, VT PO Box 424 Bradford, VT 05033 802-222-4423 E-mail:[mailto:bhsnews19@gmail.com bhsnews19@gmail.com] Facebook
 * Braintree Historical Society 2756 Braintree Hill Road Braintree, VT 05060 (802) 728-9933 Email:[mailto:trainmaster@hughes.net trainmaster@hughes.net] Facebook
 * Brookfield Historical Society PO Box 447 Brookfield, VT 05036 Email: [wight@alum.mit.edu wight@alum.mit.edu] Website Facebook
 * Chelsea Historical Society P.O. Box 5 330 VT Rte 110 Chelsea, VT 05038 802-685-4447 Email: [mailto:chelseavthistoricalsociety@gmail.com chelseavthistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Facebook
 * Corinth Historical Society, Inc. Corinth Academy Museum 1767 Center Road Corinth, VT 05039 802-685-3812 E-mail:[mailto:nerestoration@valley.net nerestoration@valley.net]
 * Fairlee Historical Society 75 Town Common Rd Fairlee, VT 05045 802-333-4363 Email: [mailto:townclerk@fairleevt.org townclerk@fairleevt.org]
 * Newbury Historical Society 155 Tyler Farm Rd West Newbury, VT 05051 E-mail:[mailto:newburyhistorical@gmail.com newburyhistorical@gmail.com] Facebook
 * Thetford Historical Society 16 Library Road PO Box 33 Thetford, VT 05074 (802)785-2068 E-mail:[mailto:info@thetfordhistoricalsociety.org info@thetfordhistoricalsociety.org] Website Facebook
 * Washington Vermont Historical Society. Town Clerk's Office Route 110 Washington, VGT E-mail: [mailto:ldeberville@aol.com ldeberville@aol.com] Website

Websites

 * The Orange County VTGenWeb Project, a member of The VTGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Orange County
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.