Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
In January of 1749 New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth chartered Bennington, the first town grant in Vermont.

Bennington was the first settlement in Vermont, west of the Green Mountains. In June, 1761, the first settlers, about twenty people, came from Massachusetts. In 1800 there were no more than twenty houses in what later became the Village of Bennington.

In 1777, Bennington had a large store of supplies that the English felt they should come to Bennington and remove, to satisfy their own needs. General Stark and the Green Mountain Boys successfully fought off the English, keeping the stores in Bennington. To commemorate this victory the Bennington Battle Monument was erected, and dedicated by President Benjamin Harrison in 1891.

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


 * Bennington Hebrew Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Bennington Village Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Bushnell-Barney Cemetery aka Barney Cemetery, Bushnell Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hinsdillville Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Kingsley Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * New Catholic Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old Bennington Cemetery (aka Old First Church Cemetery, Old First Congregational Church Cemetery) - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old Catholic Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Park Lawn Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Rice Cemetery (aka Alfred Winslow Farm Cemetery) - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Vermont Veterns Home Cemetery- inscriptons at Find A Grave site.
 * White Chapel Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


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

1. Jehovah's Witness   393 Gore Rd    Bennington, VT 05201    Phone: (802) 442-8648

2. Old First Church   1 Monument Circle    Bennington, Vermont 05201    Phone: (802) 447-1223    Email : office@oldfirst.comcastbiz.net    Website

3. Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church   238 West Main Street    Bennington, VT 05201    Phone (802) 442-3141   Website

4. Second Congregational Church   115 Hillside St    Bennington, VT 05201    Phone: (802) 442-2559    Website

5. Seventh Day Adventist Church   404 Houghton Ln    Bennington, VT 05201    (802) 442-4579    Facebook    Website

6. St. Peters Episcopal Church - 1834-1871 Marriage Records   200 Pleasant Street    Bennington, VT 05201    Phone: (802) 442-2911    Facebook    Website

City Directories
Vermont City Directories in Vermont Repositories.

Bennington, Vermont 1896 - 97 Directory

The FamilySearch Library Catalog has several microfilms of Bennington Directories.

Historical Data
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.

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Bennington:

Libraries and Historical Societies
Bennington Free Library 101 Silver Street Bennington, VT 05201 Phone: (802) 442-9051 Email: webmaster@bfli.org Website: http://benningtonfreelibrary.org/

Bennington Historical Society 75 Main St, Bennington, VT ‎05201 Phone: (802) 447-1571 Email: bhs@benningtonmuseum.org Website: http://www.benningtonmuseum.org/bennington-historical-society.html

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

1856 Bennington map

Newspapers
Bennington Banner Newspaper

Probate Records
The probate district for Bennington is Bennington. Bennington Probate Division 207 South St. Bennington, VT 05201 Phone: (802) 447-2705

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

Town Histories
The Battle of Bennington

The Local History of Bennington, 1860-1883, by Abby Maria Hemenway, is available online.

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 Bennington town records available online:

, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images) How to Use this Collection.

The Bennington Town Clerk has downloadable Early Town Records and Genealogical Records (Births 1763 to 1850, Deaths 1763 to 1850, Marriages - Brides 1763 to 1850, and Marriages - Grooms 1763 to 1850).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Bennington Town Clerks Office. These include Town and vital records, 1741-1930; with some deeds, 1741-1809.

Bennington Town Clerk 205 South Street Bennington, VT 05201 Phone: (802) 442-1043 Website: http://www.benningtonvt.org/townclerk/index.html

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

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