Charleston, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Charleston, Vermont at Wikipedia

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.

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

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

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/

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 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.


 * Charleston 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 Charleston, 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 Charleston:

City Directories

 * 1884 Charleston Town Directory
 * 1916-1959 Vermont, U.S., City Directories, Charlestown 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

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

Land Records

 * 1600s-1900s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($),
 * Vermont Land and Property

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

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


 * 1878 map of Charleston, and Charleston Town East.

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: Enrolled Militia (Charleston, Vermont), 1862-1866, records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library.
 * Vermont Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
 * United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

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 Charleston town records available online:

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.

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

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

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