Westmore, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Westmore, Vermont at Wikipedia

Westmore was chartered on August 17, 1781 by the Vermont Legislature. Originally named Westford, which confused everyone, because there had been a Westford in Chittenden County since Benning Wentworth granted it in 1763. Nobody has ever been able to come up with any explanation as to why the duplicate name was used in the first place, nor why it took six years for the error to be corrected by changing the name to Westmore.

Hilly, even mountainous, Westmore never attracted many settlers, with 1880 being the big census year with 485 residents. The town contains one unincorporated village clustered around Lake Willoughby. The population was 350 at the 2010 US census.

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

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

Westmore Town Clerk 54 Hinton Hill Road Orleans, VT 05860 Phone: (802) 525-3007 Email: clerk@westmoreonline.org Website: http://westmoreonline.org/

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

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


 * Lakeview Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Westmore Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Orleans 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 Westmore, 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 Westmore:

City Directories

 * 1884 Westmore Town Directory
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index and images ($) some towns and years may be missing

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

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Westmore:
 * 1600s-1900s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($),
 * Vermont Land and Property

Westmore,Vermont Land Records,1853 to 1907, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images)

Local Histories
Willoughby Lake, Vermont - History of the WilloughVale Inn &amp; Cottages

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


 * 1878 map of Westmore

Military
Some Records are Searchable by Town

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

Westmore, Vermont Enrolled Militia Records, 1863-1867, can be found on - How to Use this Collection.

Newspapers
The Newport Daily Express

Other 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 Westmore town records available online:

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Westmore Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Westmore, Vermont, 1805-1952, and Land records, v. 1-2, 1803-1853.

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

Orleans Probate Division 247 Main Street Newport, VT · 05855 Phone: (802) 334-3305
 * 1749-1999 Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1800-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Vermont Probate Records

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Essex Vermont Family History Center
 * Montpelier Vermont Family History Center
 * Newport Vermont Family History Center
 * Plattsburgh New York Family History Center
 * Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society - an affiliate library