Manchester, Bennington County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Manchester, Vermont at Wikipedia

Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns of, Bennington County, Vermont. The town was chartered on Aug. 11, 1761 and organized in March of 1766. Within the township of Manchester are three villages; Manchester, Manchester Center and Manchester Depot.

From 1850 into the 1920s, Manchester entered its resort phase. The natural beauty of the area and its relative lack of development drew tourists. Franklin Orvis opened Manchester’s most famous hotel, the Equinox, in 1853, which became the centerpiece of Manchester's tourist industry.

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

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

Manchester Town Clerk 6039 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 05255) Phone: (802) 362-1313, option 1 Website: http://www.manchester-vt.gov/content/town-clerks-office

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 cemeteries in present-day Landgrove. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Bennington County, website at this link.


 * Dellwood Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Factory Point Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Oreb Taylor Family Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Roberts Homestead Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Manchester Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Bennington 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 Manchester, 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 Manchester:

1. Christ Our Savior Parish   398 Bonnet St.    Manchester Center, VT 05255    Phone: (802) 362-1380

2. First Congregational Church   3624 Main St.    Manchester, VT 05254    Phone: (802) 362-2709

3. Northshire Baptist Fellowship   5769 Main St.    Manchester Center, VT 05255    Phone: (802) 362-1988

4. St John's Chapel   3512 Main St.    Manchester Center, VT 05255    Phone: 802) 362-0884

City Directories

 * 1877 U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Manchester at Ancestry - index and images ($),some years may be missing
 * 1877 Vermont, U.S., City Directories, Manchester at Ancestry - index and images ($),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

 * 1600s-1900s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($),
 * Vermont Land and Property
 * 1782-1832 (*) Bennington County (Vermont). County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
 * Vermont Land and Property

Local Histories
The Vermont Historical Gazetteer is a 5 volume set of historical information by Abby Maria Hemenway with Volume I published in 1867 and Volume V completed in 1891 after her death. Also available online in PDF format at this link.

Equinox House history

Manchester, Vermont: A Pleasant Land Among the Mountains. Locate this book in a library.

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


 * 1856 Manchester map

Military
Searchable by Town 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

Newspapers
The Manchester Journal

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 Manchester town records available online:

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Manchester Town Clerks Office. These include Land records, 1761-1901; general index to land records, 1761-1950, Records of births, marriages, deaths, 1857-1995, Town records, v. 1, 1831-1919, and Card index to vital statistics in the early land and town records books.

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

Digital images of Vermont, Bennington County, Manchester District, probate records, 1779-1935 are available at.

The Family History Library has microfilm of Probate records (Manchester District, Vermont), 1779-1914.

The probate district for Manchester is Manchester. Manchester Probate Court P.O. Box 446, Manchester, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 362-1410

Libraries
Mark Skinner Library 48 West Rd Manchester, VT 05254 Phone:(802) 362-2607 Email: info@MarkSkinnerLibrary.org Website: http://markskinnerlibrary.org/home/

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Albany New York Family History Center
 * Bennington Vermont Family History Center
 * Concord New Hampshire Family History Center
 * Rutland Vermont Family History Center
 * Brooks Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Crandall Public Library - an affiliate library

Societies
Manchester Historical Society Mark Skinner Library 48 West Road, Manchester, VT Mailing Address: PO Box 363, Manchester, VT 05254 Email: judyannh@together.net Phone: (802) 362-3708 Contact: Judith Harwood, Curator