Vermont, Town Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Collection Time Period
The records in this collection are for the years 1850 to 2005.

Record History
Most towns began recording some vital records after their incorporation as a town. Marriages are usually the first to be recorded. By the mid to late 1800s most towns in Vermont were recording births, marriages, and deaths. Most of these records are listed as land records in the town hall or archives.

Why this Record Was Created
These records were created to keep track of the vital events happening in the lives of the town’s citizens and to safeguard their legal interests.

Record Reliability
These records are generally reliable but can vary depending on the knowledge of the informant.

Record Description
The records are handwritten on preprinted pages which have been bound into volumes. The collection consists of vital records (births, marriages, and deaths), cemetery records, and burial and removal permits. They are arranged by town, then by record type, then by date. The content and completeness of the records varies by town.

Record Content
The following important biographical facts may be found in the birth records:

• Child’s name

• Child’s sex

• Birth date

• Birth place

• Registration date

• Race

• Parent’s names

• Parent’s residence

• Father’s occupation

• Parent’s birth places

The following important biographical facts may be found in the marriage records:

• Full name of bride and groom

• Marriage date

• Marriage place

• Residence of bride and groom

• Age of bride and groom

• Groom’s occupation

• Birth place of bride and groom

• Parents of bride and groom

• What number of marriage for bride and groom

• Officiator

The following important biographical facts may be found in the death records:

• Name of deceased

• Death date

• Death place

• Age in days, months, and years

• Marital status

• Cause of death

• Occupation

• Birth place

• Name of parents

• Social Security number

• Birth date

• Military service

• Surviving spouse

• Race

• Education

• Residence

• Parent’s names

• Informant’s names

• Informant’s residence

The following important biographical facts may be found in the burial or removal records:

• Name of person certificate is issued to

• County

• City or town

• Death date

• Name of deceased

• Age of deceased

• Cause of death

• Medical attendant

• Purposed date of burial or removal

• Purposed place of burial or removal

• Undertaker

• Undertaker’s address

• Name and title of person issuing permit

• Permit date

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:

• The place where the birth, marriage, or death occurred.

• The name of the person at the time of the event.

• The approximate date the event occurred.

•The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the bride and groom, the infant, or the deceased.

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:

• Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.

• Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names. • Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.

• Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.

• Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.

• Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.

• The name of the officiator may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.

• Use a marriage number to identify previous marriages.

• The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral and cemetery records which often include the names and residences of other family members.

• Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.

• Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.

• When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:

• The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.

• Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1900.

• There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:

• Check for variant spellings of the surnames.

• Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.

• Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

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Vermont Town Records

Sources of This Collection
“Vermont Town Records, 1850-2005," database, FamilySearch Record Search, 2010. Digital copies of originals housed in town halls in various counties throughout Vermont.

How to Cite Your Sources
For instructions on citing specific records or images within this collection