Charleston, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
The town of Charleston was granted on November 10, 1780 by the Vermont Legislature. The town was originaly named Navy by the Commodore Abraham Whipple of Rhode Island, who was the first named grantee. None of the original grantees ever resided in the town.

In 1825 the town's name was changed by the Vermont legislature from Navy to Charleston. The town contains three unincorporated villages: Charleston, East Charleston and West Charleston.

Town Histories
History of the town of Charleston, Vermont (Navy, 1803-1825), by Esther B. Hamilton (1955) - view a digital copy of this book online.

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

Military Records
Enrolled Militia (Charleston, Vermont), 1862-1866, records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.

Probate Records
Orleans Probate Division 247 Main Street Newport, VT · 05855 Phone: (802) 334-3305

City Directories
1884 Charleston Town Directory

Maps
1878 map of Charleston, and Charleston Town East.

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


 * Buck Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Crawford Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hillside Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Village Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Town Records
Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1806 -1999, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Charleston Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Charleston, Vermont, 1803-1999, Land records (Charleston, Vermont); index to records, 1806-1905, 1841-1910, and Land records, 1806-1849.

Charleston Town Clerk’s Office 5063 Vt. Rte. 105 West Charleston, VT 05872 Phone: (802) 895-2814 Email: townofcharlestonvt@comcast.net Website: http://www.charlestonvt.org/

Newspapers
The Newport Daily Express

Libraries and Historical Societies
Charleston Historical Society, Inc. PO Box 46 East Charleston, VT 05833 Phone: (802) 723-4833 Website: http://www.charlestonvt.org/historical.php

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