Charlestown, Washington County, Rhode Island Genealogy

Brief History
The area of land known today as Charlestown, was originally called Misquamicoke (Misquamicut). The lands of present-day Westerly, Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton, were acquired through a purchase known as the Misquamicut Purchase, from a well-respected Indian named Chief Sosoa of the Narragansett tribe. This town was named in honor of Charles II, the English King who granted a charter to Rhode Island.

Charlestown was incorporated on August 23, 1738, via Act Dividing the Town Westerly, Charlestown Established, viewable in the Rhode Island Department of State records. From 1737-1747, this town also included the area of Rhode Island now known as Richmond, Rhode Island.
 * Further history of Charlestown can be easily view on Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia

Cemeteries
This text, Rhode Island towns, Charlestown : showing location of historical cemeteries, contains the maps of locations and descriptions of historical cemeteries in the town.
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Charlestown Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Washington County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Rhode Island 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 TOWN, 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 TOWN:

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Charlestown:
 * at FS digital images
 * at FS digital images

Libraries and Historical Societies
Charlestown Historical Society

4417B Old Post Road,

Charlestown, RI 02813

info@charlestownhistorical.org

https://www.charlestownhistorical.org/

Maps
The following are online maps of the town of Charlestown:

Town Histories

 * Historical Sketch of the Town of Charlestown, in Rhode Island, from 1636 to 1876, transcribed and written by William Franklin Tucker, viewable on Archive.org
 * Reflections of Charlestown, Rhode Island, 1876-1976 : a memorial to the bicentennial celebration of the United States of America,

Town Records: Probate, Town Council,
In Charlestown, some town council records are intermixed with probate records. In Rhode Island, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town.


 * at FamilySearch Catalog, 1738-1800, & 1866-1870 records digitized. This collection includes some vital records within the probate records.
 * at FamilySearch Catalog.

These records may include the following: The following are TOWN town records available online:

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

Office of the Town Clerk 4540 South County Trail Charlestown, RI, 02813 Phone: 401-364-1200 charlestownri.gov/townclerk

Vital Records

 * A large number of vital records can be found in the James N. Arnold text, Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850: A Family Register for the People. Vol 5: Washington County.
 * A downloadable PDF of Deaths for 1850-1930, as well as a downloadable PDF of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, 1738-1849, can be downloaded from the Charlestown Historical Society website.
 * FS Catalog to digital images