South Hero, Grand Isle County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
South Hero was chartered on October 27, 1779 by the Vermont Legislature. It is one of four towns (Isle La Motte, Grand Isle, North Hero, and South Hero) comprising Vermont's "Lake Champlain Islands."

Originally, North Hero, South Hero and Grand Isle were granted to Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick and 363 other Revolutionary War veterans as a single town known as Two Heroes.

In 1798, Two Heroes was divided into North Hero (the entire north island), Middle Hero and South Hero, with the last two sharing the southern island and a single representative to the legislature, hence they were not actually separate towns. This arrangement was not entirely satisfactory: in 1810, Middle Hero was given complete autonomy and renamed Grand Isle, which is what the French had originally called the whole southern island.

The first settlers of South Hero took advantage of the fertile soil with subsistence farming, growing fruit, tending gardens, maple sugaring, dairying and spinning and weaving fabric from domestic materials. As the town grew, the main source of income for residents came from farming, dairying and fruit growing, as the fertile land generated abundant crops, which were good for community development.

Cemeteries
The following is a list of major cemeteries in present-day South Hero Town. For location of all cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Grand Isle County, website at this link.


 * South Hero Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

South Hero, Vermont Cemetery Records, early to 1870, are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.


 * South Hero Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Grand Isle 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 South Hero, 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 TOWN:

List of marriages (1797-1838 from South Hero, Vermont) solemnized by Rev. Asa Lyon : from private record of Hector Adams is available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

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

Libraries and Historical Societies
South Hero Community Library 75 South St. South Hero, VT 05486 Phone: (802) 372-6209 Email: southherolibrary@gmail.com Website: http://www.southherolibrary.org/

South Hero Historical Society

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of South Hero:

1871 map of Grand Isle and South Hero

Newspapers
St. Albans Messenger

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

Grand Isle Probate Division 3677 U.S. Route 2 PO Box 7 North Hero VT 05474 Phone: (802) 372-8350

Town Histories

 * History of the South Hero Island : being the towns of South Hero and Grand Isle, Vermont, by Allen L Stratton (1980) - find this book in a library.
 * A Brief History of the Town of South Hero - courtesy of the University of Vermont

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 South Hero town records available online:


 * Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1807-1907, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).
 * The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the South Hero Town Clerk's Office. These include: Town and vital records of South Hero, Vermont, 1768-2000, and Deeds, 1783-1900; index to deeds, 1783-1880.

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

Town of South Hero 333 U.S. Route 2 P.O. Box 175 South Hero, VT 05486 Phone: (802) 372-5552 Website: http://www.southherovt.org/

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