Brighton, Essex County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Brighton was chartered on August 13, 1781. Brlghton has had three names. It was originally granted by Vermont in 1780 to a group of Connecticut men as Gilead. Following the lapse of the Gilead grant, the town was bought by a different group, this time, the town was was named Random. Latter-day residents came to feel that the Random name did nothing to attract either settlers or business to their town, so the legislature changed the name to Brighton in 1832, when the town's population was just over 100. The population at the 2010 US Census was 1,222.

Town Histories
History of Island Pond, Vermont.

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

Probate Records
The probate district for Brighton is Essex. Essex Probate Court Main St. Box 426 Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-4770

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


 * Lakeside Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * New Protestant Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old Catholic Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Town Records
Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1915 -1967, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Brighton Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Brighton, Vermont, 1856, 1866-2000, [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1195245 Town record book of Brighton, Vermont, 1832-1865, including vital records, 1809-ca. 1865], and Land records, 1832-1907.

Brighton Town Office 49 Mill St. PO Box 377 Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-4405 Website: http://www.islandpond.com/brighton.htm

Libraries and Historical Societies
Island Pond Public Library 49 Mill St. Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-6134

Island Pond Historical Society Inc Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-5983

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