Athens, Windham County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Athens was chartered on May 3, 1780. Spelled Athans in its charter, the present spelling seems to have been adopted quite early. The town was organized and the first meeting held March 4, 1781. The only real village has always been known as Athens, and for a time (1827-1907) actually had a Post Office. The area in the southern part of the town is almost entirely uninhabited.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Athens. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Windham County, website at this link.


 * Athens Valley Cemetery (aka Valley Cemetery) - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Athens Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Tombstone records from Athens Valley and Athens West cemeteries are on microfilm at the Family History Library.


 * Athen Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Windham 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 Athens, 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 Athens:

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

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

1869 map of Athens

Military Records
Athens, VT Enrolled Militia, 1863, is on microflim at the Family History Library.

Newspapers
Brattleboro Reformer

Probate Records
The probate district for Athens is Westminster. Westminster Probate Court PO Box 47 Bellows Falls, VT 05101-0047 Phone: (802) 463-3019 In Vermont, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of Athens:

Town Histories
History of Athens, Vermont : with genealogies, 1779-1960 by Lora M. Wyman (1963) - 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 Athens town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1732-2002, can be found on FamilySerach (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Athens Town Clerk's Office. These include Town records, 1780-1903, Land records, 1779-1917; index to land records, 1779-1945, Vital records, 1775-1867, and Marriage certificates, 1867-1905.

Athens Town Clerk RR 3 Box 194 25 Brookline Road Athens, VT 05143 Phone: (802) 869-3370 Email: townofathens@hotmail.com

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.