Charlestown, Washington County, Rhode Island Genealogy

Description
Charlestown, Rhode Island at Wikipedia The area of land known today as Charlestown, was originally called Misquamicoke (Misquamicut). The lands of present-day Westerly, Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton, were acquired through a purchase known as the Misquamicut Purchase, from a well-respected Indian named Chief Sosoa of the Narragansett tribe. This town was named in honor of Charles II, the English King who granted a charter to Rhode Island. Charlestown was incorporated on August 23, 1738, via Act Dividing the Town Westerly, Charlestown Established, viewable in the Rhode Island Department of State records. From 1737-1747, this town also included the area of Rhode Island now known as Richmond, Rhode Island.

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

Charlestown Town Clerk
Office of the Town Clerk 4540 South County Trail Charlestown, RI, 02813 Telephone: 401-364-1200 charlestownri.gov/townclerk

Vital Records

 * A large number of vital records can be found in the James N. Arnold text, Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850: A Family Register for the People. Vol 5: Washington County.
 * A downloadable PDF of Deaths for 1850-1930, as well as a downloadable PDF of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, 1738-1849, can be downloaded from the Charlestown Historical Society website.
 * FS Catalog to digital images

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Cemeteries
This text, Rhode Island towns, Charlestown : showing location of historical cemeteries, contains the maps of locations and descriptions of historical cemeteries in the town.
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Charlestown Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Washington County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Rhode Island 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 TOWN, 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:


 * 1636-1899 Rhode Island, Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1671-1899 Rhode Island Church Records 1671-1899 at Findmypast - index, ($)
 * Rhode Island Church Records

City Directories

 * 1924,1925 Rhode Island, U.S., City Directories, Charlestown at Ancestry - index and images ($),some years may be missing
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index and images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Charlestown:
 * 1646-1851 (*) Rhode Island. General Assembly, & Rhode Island. Court of Trials at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
 * 1737-1770 at FS digital images
 * 1738-1931 at FS digital images
 * Rhode Island Land and Property

Local Histories

 * Historical Sketch of the Town of Charlestown, in Rhode Island, from 1636 to 1876, transcribed and written by William Franklin Tucker, viewable on Archive.org
 * Reflections of Charlestown, Rhode Island, 1876-1976 : a memorial to the bicentennial celebration of the United States of America,

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

Military
Some Records are Searchable by Town
 * United States Military Records

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:
 * Rhode Island 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:
 * Rhode Island 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:
 * Rhode Island 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:
 * Rhode Island Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
 * United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Other Town Records: Probate, Town Council,
In Charlestown, some town council records are intermixed with probate records. In Rhode Island, 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 TOWN town records available online:
 * at FamilySearch Catalog, 1738-1800, & 1866-1870 records digitized. This collection includes some vital records within the probate records.
 * at FamilySearch Catalog.

Probate Records

 * 1582-1932 Rhode Island, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * Rhode Island Probate Records

Nearest Family History Center

 * Providence Rhode Island Family History Center
 * American French Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Clark Memorial Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Newport Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Roger Williams University Library - an affiliate library

Societies
Charlestown Historical Society 4417B Old Post Road Charlestown, RI 02813 Email: info@charlestownhistorical.org https://www.charlestownhistorical.org/