Charleston, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
The town of Charleston was granted on November 10, 1780 by the Vermont Legislature. The town was originaly named Navy by the Commodore Abraham Whipple of Rhode Island, who was the first named grantee. None of the original grantees ever resided in the town.

In 1825 the town's name was changed by the Vermont legislature from Navy to Charleston. The town contains three unincorporated villages: Charleston, East Charleston and West Charleston.

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


 * Buck Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Crawford Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hillside Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Village Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Charleston Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Orleans 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 Charleston, 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 Charleston:

City Directories
1884 Charleston Town Directory

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
Charleston Historical Society, Inc. PO Box 46 East Charleston, VT 05833 Phone: (802) 723-4833 Website: http://www.charlestonvt.org/historical.php

Northeast Kingdom Genealogy - Genealogy resources for towns in the counties of Essex, Orleans and Caledonia.

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

1878 map of Charleston, and Charleston Town East.

Military Records
Enrolled Militia (Charleston, Vermont), 1862-1866, records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

Newspapers
The Newport Daily Express

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

Orleans Probate Division 247 Main Street Newport, VT · 05855 Phone: (802) 334-3305

Town Histories
History of the town of Charleston, Vermont (Navy, 1803-1825), by Esther B. Hamilton (1955) - view a digital copy of this book online.

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 Charleston town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1806 -1999, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Charleston Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Charleston, Vermont, 1803-1999, Land records (Charleston, Vermont); index to records, 1806-1905, 1841-1910, and Land records, 1806-1849.

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

Charleston Town Clerk’s Office 5063 Vt. Rte. 105 West Charleston, VT 05872 Phone: (802) 895-2814 Email: townofcharlestonvt@comcast.net Website: http://www.charlestonvt.org/

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