Bridgewater, Windsor County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Bridgewater, Vermont at Wikipedia

Bridgewater was chartered on July 10, 1761. The town was organized and the first town meeting held on March 30, 1785.

Bridgewater was a well named town even before any bridges were built. Records show that in 1879 there were 73 bridges over ten feet in length.

These bridges were covered to protect the floor of the bridge from the effects of the weather. When the winter snow arrived and wagon wheels had to be changed to runners, it was then necessary to pay someone to “snow” the bridges for easy passage.

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

Bridgewater Town Clerk
Bridgewater Town Clerk 7335 U.S. 4 Bridgewater, VT 05034 Phone: (802) 672-3334 Email: twnbridg@comcast.net Website: http://www.bridgewater.vt.gov/

Vital Records

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Bridgewater. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Windsor County, website at this link.
 * Bridgewater Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Windsor County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places
 * Angell (Bridgewater Hollow) Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Baker Hill (Bridgewater Center) Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Bridgewater Hill Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Kellogg (Kellogg-Bassett) Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Mendall Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Mount Pleasant Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * North Bridgewater Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Topliff Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Bridgewater cemetery pages where you will find cemetery information and inscriptions courtesy of the Bridgewater Historical Society - http://www.bridgewaterhistory.org/cemeteries/

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 Bridgewater, 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 Bridgewater:
 * Bethany Mennonite Church   169 Rte 100A    Bridgewater Cors, VT 05035    Phone: (802) 672-3488
 * Bridgewater Congregational Church   7213 Rte. 4    PO Box 4    Bridgewater, VT    Phone: (802) 672-5211

City Directories

 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index and images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Land Records

 * 1600s-1900s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($),
 * Vermont Land and Property

Local Histories

 * Bridgewater, Vermont, 1779-1976, by Gladys S Adams and Thomas E Adams (2005) - Find this book in a library.

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * Boundary Map of Bridgewater at HomeTownLocator
 * Bridgewater at FamilySearch Places
 * Bridgewater at Google Maps
 * Bridgewater at Mapcarta
 * McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
 * Old Maps of Vermont at Old-Maps.com
 * Town of Bridgewater at Vermont.org
 * Vermont Maps State Page


 * 1869 map of Bridgewater Town, Bridgewater Center, Bridgewater Corners
 * 1869 map of Bridgewater

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 Newspaper

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 Bridgewater town records available online:
 * Digital images of Bridgewater Town records, 1773-1869, are available online at FamilySearch.
 * The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Bridgewater Town Clerk's Office. These include Deeds, 1781-1894; index, 1781-1898and Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1868-1997; indexes to births, deaths, marriages, 1773-1997.

Probate Records
The probate district for Bridgewater is Hartford. Hartford Probate Court 62 Pleasant Street PO Box 275 Woodstock, VT 05091 Phone: (802) 457-1503
 * 1749-1999 Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1800-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Vermont Probate Records

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Concord New Hampshire Family History Center
 * Lebanon New Hampshire Family History Center
 * Rutland Vermont Family History Center
 * South Royalton Vermont Family History Center
 * Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Crandall Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Meredith Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Thornton Public Library - New Hampshire - an affiliate library

Societies
Bridgewater Historical Society, Inc PO Box 98 12 North Bridgewater Road Bridgewater, Vermont 05034 Phone: (802) 672-3745 Email: bridgewaterhistoricalsociety@gmail.com Website: http://www.bridgewaterhistory.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgewaterHistoricalSociety