West Rutland, Rutland County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
West Rutland, Vermont at Wikipedia

On September 7, 1761 Benning Wentworth, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, signed a charter for 26,000 acres establishing the Town of Rutland in the name of Kind George III. The current towns of Rutland, West Rutland, Proctor and the City of Rutland were all included in the charter. Governor Wentworth preferred to name towns for prominent people in the hope that they would back his territorial claims on the west side of the Green Mountains over those of the Governor of New York. The town was likely named after the Duke of Rutland or John Murray, from Rutland. Massachusetts.

The history of West Rutland was closely tied to the marble industry and the first marble quarries were opened in 1814, but failed to flourish until William F. Barnes implemented technological innovations that revolutionized the industry. Barnes conceived the idea of channeling marble, a process that permitted large blocks of marble to be removed at one time. This procedure replaced the old method of blasting, a technique that created great amounts of waste. To lift the heavy blocks out of the quarry, Barnes erected the first derrick, the hoisting being accomplished by either oxen or horses.

In the late 1800's, West Rutland residents began to feel dissatisfied with their representation in local politics and petitioned to separate from East Rutland. The Vermont legislature approved, and on November 19, 1886 West Rutland was incorporated as its own town. The first town meeting was held on March 1, 1887 in Campbell Hall on Marble Street. At this meeting, West Rutland's civic government was organized and the officers were elected to carry on town business.

Populated Places
Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities, Districts, and Census-Designated Places:

Town Records
In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

TOWN Town Clerk
West Rutland Town Clerk Office 35 Marble Street West Rutland, VT 05777 (802) 438-2204 Website: West Rutland, Vermont

Vital Records

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

Town Reports
The town of West Rutland kept annual town reports. These reports often contained birth, marriage, and death information. Below is a list of years when West Rutland kept town reports. (NOTE: Occasionally, these town reports missed vital statistic information from the end of the year. If you don't find your ancestor's vital information, check the following year's town report to see if your ancestor's information was recorded later.)

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day West Rutland. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Rutland County, website at this link.
 * West Rutland Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Rutland County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places


 * Pleasant Street Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Sacred Heart Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Bridgets Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Stanislaus Kostka Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Rutland Poor Farm Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Whipple Hollow Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

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.<br To see the churches in Rutland, 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 Rutland:
 * St. Bridgets Catholic Church 28 Church St West Rutland, VT 05777 (802) 438-2490
 * Ira Baptist Church 1846 VT Route 133 West Rutland, VT 05777 (802) 235-2239
 * St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish 23 Barnes St West Rutland, VT 05777 (802) 438-5671
 * United Church of West Rutland Pratt Hall West Rutland, VT 05777 (802) 438-2861

City Directories

 * 1917-1964 Vermont, U.S., City Directories, West Rutland at Ancestry - index and images ($),some years may be missing
 * Microfilm available at FamilySearch
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index and images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Local Histories

 * Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town.
 * The Hub of the Community, West Rutland Town Hall, Victor and Ethel Sevigny, Rutland Historical Society Quarterly Newsletter, Spring 1983. Full text online at this link

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
 * Old Maps of Vermont at Old-Maps.com
 * West Rutland at Mapcarta
 * Vermont Maps State Page

Military
Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
 * United States Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Civil War, 1861-1865
For more Civil War Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865
 * United States Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865

World War I, 1917-1918
For more World War I Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918
 * United States Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918

World War II, 1941-1945
For more World War II Military Records see:
 * Vermont Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
 * United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Newspapers

 * Rutland Herald online at this link

Other 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 Rutland town records available online:

West Rutland High School - 1908 thru 2014
 * Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images) at this link.
 * The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the West Rutland Town Hall.
 * High School Yearbooks - courtesy of the Rutland Historical Society

Probate Records

 * Rutland Probate Court 83 Center Street Rutland, VT 05701 (802) 775-0114

Libraries

 * West Rutland Public Library 595 Main St., PO BOX 66 West Rutland, VT 05777 (802) 438-2964 Website: West Rutland Public Library] ] Email: westrutlandlibrary@live.com

Societies

 * West Rutland Historical Society 35 Marble St. West Rutland, VT 05777 Website: Historical Society]