Strafford, Orange County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Strafford was granted its charter on August 12, 1761. The first known permanent settlers in Strafford arrived about 1767, establishing what is now called the “Old City” settlement. The discovery of copperas and copper ore at Strafford in the 1790s led to the creation of the Elizabeth Mine Company and the Vermont Mineral Company. During the last period of its operation the Elizabeth Mine was the largest in New England.

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


 * Clough Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Evergreen Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Gove Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Kibling Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old City Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Robinson Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Strafford Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Strafford Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * 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 Strafford, 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 Strafford:

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
Morrill Memorial &amp; Harris Library 220 Justin Morrill Highway PO Box 110 Strafford, VT 05072 Phone: (802) 765-4037 Email:strafford@vals.state.vt.us Website: http://www.straffordlibrary.org/

Strafford Historical Society P.O. Box 100 Strafford, VT 05072 Phone: (802) 765-4379 Website: http://www.straffordvt.org/straffordhistory/straffordhistoricalsociety

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

1877 map of Strafford

Newspapers
The Herald of Randolph

Valley News

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

The probate district for Strafford is Orange. Orange Probate Court 5 Court St Chelsea VT 05038 Phone: (802) 685-4610

Town Histories
The town house : being the first volume of a projected series of occasional writings on the history of the town of Strafford, Vermont, by Gwenda Smith, 1992 - find this book in a library.

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 Strafford town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1903-1998, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

Strafford Land Records, 1850-1902, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Strafford Town Clerk's Office. These include Town and vital records, 1779-1905, Deeds, 1784-1850, and Proprietors records, 1761-1831.

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

Strafford Town Clerk Physical address: 227 Justin Morrill Highway Mailing address: P.O. Box 27 Strafford, VT 05072 Phone: (802) 765-4411 Email: townclerk@straffordvt.org Website: http://www.townofstraffordvt.com/

Vital Records
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