Vermont Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary greatly 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. Records may include names of other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominantly of one nationality or ethnic group.

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Vermont were the Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, and Roman Catholic churches. For a list of churches in Vermont, see John Gordon Melton’s National Directory of Churches, Synagogues and Other Houses of Worship in the “Church Records” section of the United States Research Outline (30972).

The Family History Library has the records of some denominations in Vermont. Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. To locate these repositories, write to the following addresses:

Baptist
Bailey-Howe Library

University of Vermont Burlington, VT 05405-0036 Telephone: 802-656-2020 Fax: 802-656-4038 Internet: http://library.uvm.edu/about/specialcollections/

American Baptist Historical Society 1106 South Goodman Street Rochester, NY 14620 Telephone: 716-473-1740 Internet: http://www.baptisthistory.us/

For a history of the Baptist church, see:

Crocker, Henry. History of the Baptists in Vermont. Bellows Falls, Vermont: P. H. Gobie Press, 1913. (FHL film 1033832, item 2; fiche 6051223.) This book includes an index.

Congregational
Congregational Library

14 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02108 Telephone: 617-523-0470 Fax: 617-523-0470 Internet: www.14beacon.org

For a history of the Congregational churches in Vermont from 1762 to 1914, see:

Comstock, John Moore. The Congregational Churches of Vermont and Their Ministry, 1762–1914, Historical and Statistical. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Caledonian, 1915. (FHL book 974.3 K2cc; film 874201, item3; fiche 6046853 [set of 3].) This book includes historical information and is arranged by town.

Episcopal
Episcopal Diocesan Center

5 Rock Point Road Burlington, VT 05401-2735 Telephone: 802-863-3431 Fax: 802-860-1562 Internet: http://www.dioceseofvermont.org/

For further information, see:

Historical Records Survey (Vermont). Inventory of Church Archives of Vermont, No.1, Diocese of Vermont, Protestant Episcopal. Montpelier, Vermont: The Survey, 1940. (FHL book 974.3 K23h.) This book also includes a historical sketch of each parish or mission.

Methodist
Green Mountain College Library

One College Circle Poultney, Vt 05764 Telephone: 802-287-8225 Fax: 802-287-8222 (Attention Library) Internet: www.greenmtn.edu

Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic genealogical records are kept in each individual parish. For general information, or for the location and addresses of parishes, contact:

'''Archives of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington''' 351 North Avenue Burlington, VT 05401 Telephone: 802-658-6110 Fax: 802-658-0436 Internet: www.vermontcatholic.org

Assemblee des Eveques du Quebec 1225 St. Joseph Boulevard East Montreal, Quebec Canada H2J 1L7 Telephone: 514-274-4323 Internet: http://www.eveques.qc.ca/

Universalist and Unitarian
MacDonald, Edith Fox. Rebellion in the Mountains: The Story of Universalism and Unitarianism in Vermont. Concord, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Vermont District of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 1979. (FHL book 974.3 K2m; film 0974420.) This book relates the history of these religions and their coming together. It shows societies in each county and lists the names, dates, and locations of the ministers’ churches, including the names of the laymen who were involved. It includes an index.

For more information, see the “Church Records” section of the United States Research Outline (30972). More sources can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

VERMONT- CHURCH RECORDS

VERMONT, [COUNTY]- CHURCH RECORDS

VERMONT, [COUNTY], [TOWN],- CHURCH RECORDS