Derby, Orleans County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Derby, Vermont at Wikipedia

The town of Derby was granted on October 29, 1779 by the Vermont Legislature. It was not until 1788 that Derby was actually chartered. The document was back-dated to when the grant was made by the Legislature. The town of Derby includes four unincorporated villages: Beebe Plain, Clyde Pond, Lake Salem and North Derby; and two incorporated villages: Derby Center and Derby Line. The Town of Derby encompasses the largest area in Orleans County.

Just south of Derby, Gatesborough had been granted but the fees were never paid, so the town was sold and chartered as Salem. The Legislature eventually agreed with the town of Derby's complaint that some 6,000 acres of Salem overlapped Derby, in addition to which part of Salem was under the waters of Lake Memphremagog. Salem's proprietors were refunded a portion of the purchase price, but the town never developed into a viable entity. Part of it was annexed to Newport in 1816 (now part of Newport city); the remainder went to Derby in 1880, resulting in Derby's unusual size and shape.

The population at the 2010 US Census was 4,621.

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

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

Derby Town Clerk 124 Main St. Derby, VT 05829 Phone: (802) 766-4906 Email: derbytownclerk@derbyvt.org Website: http://derbyvt.org/

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Biographies
International, 2018. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Biographical Sketches of Vermonters. By Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, Vermont : Vermont Historical Society, c1947. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. By Hiram Carleton. New York, New York: Lewis Pub. Co., 1903. Online at:.
 * Some Vermont Ancestors: The Bicentennial Project of the Genealogical Society of Vermont. Compiled and ed. by Joann H. Nichols. [S.l.]: Genealogical Society of Vermont, 1976. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: a Magazine Embracing a History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military. By ed. by Abby Maria Hemenway. Burlington, Vermont: A.M. Hemenway, 1868-1923. Online at:.
 * The Vermont of Today: With its Historic Background, Attractions and People. By Arthur F. Stone. New York, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., c1929. Online at:.
 * Vermonters. By Dorman B.E. Kent. Tucson, Arizona: W.C. Cox & Co., 1974. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Vermont Biography at FamilySearch Research Wiki

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


 * Chase-Cowles Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Derby Cemter Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Derby Line Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Kelsey-Morrill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Pine Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Edwards Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Salem Derby Cemetery - inscriptons at Find A Grave site.
 * Salem Lake Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Derby Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Orleans County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Census

 * Vermont Census at FamilySearch Research Wiki

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 Derby, 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 Derby:


 * 1700s-1800s (*) Daughters of the American Revolution at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
 * Vermont Church Records

City Directories

 * Derby Town directories for 1884.
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images, ($) some towns and years may be missing
 * West Derby Town directories: 1896-1897 and 1916.

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

Court Records

 * Judiciary of Vermont at Wikipedia
 * Vermont Judiciary, Resources for Media at vermont.gov, ($) - click on Records Request
 * United States District Court for the District of Vermont at Wikipedia
 * Vermont Court Records at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Land Records

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

Local Histories

 * Inventory of the town, village and city archives of Vermont, no. 10, Orleans County, town of Derby, villages of Derby, Derby Line - view this document online.
 * Inventory of the town, village and city archives of Vermont, town of Salem, 1781-1880 : supplement to no. 10, Orleans County, vol. VII, town of Derby - view this document online.


 * Derby : from Hemenway's Historical gazetteer of Vermont - view a digital copy of this book online.
 * History of Derby, by Cecile B Hay and Mildred B Hay (1998) - find this book in a library.

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


 * 1878 map of Derby

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

Newspapers

 * The Newport Daily Express
 * Free Online Newspapers for Research at libraries.vermont.gov
 * List of Newspapers in Vermont at Wikipedia
 * Newspapers of Record at Vermont State Archives & Records Administration
 * Vermont Newspapers at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Obituaries

 * 1800s-current U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * 1980-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 2003-2014 (*) NewsBank (Naples, Florida) at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
 * Vermont Obituaries at FamilySearch Research Wiki

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 Derby town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1857-1995, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The FamilySearch Library has microfilm of original records from the Derby Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Derby, Vermont, 1827-April 2001; indexes, 1794-April 2001, Index to vital records, 1790-1905, Land records, 1790-1921; with general index, and Deeds, 1820-1852.

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

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

Tax Records

 * 1861-1866 (*) United States. Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
 * Vermont Taxation at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Libraries
Dailey Memorial Library 101 Jr High Dr. Derby, VT 05829 Phone: (802) 766-5063 Email: derby@vals.state.vt.us Website: http://daileymemoriallibrary.org/

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Essex Vermont FamilySearch Center
 * Montpelier Vermont FamilySearch Center
 * Newport Vermont FamilySearch Center
 * Randolph New Hampshire FamilySearch Center
 * Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Societies
Derby Historical Society PO Box 357 Derby, VT 05829 Phone: (802) 766-5324 Email: bill@gardyne-vermont.com Derby Historical Society Website