Manchester, Bennington County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns of, Bennington County, Vermont. The town was chartered on Aug. 11, 1761 and organized in March of 1766. Within the township of Manchester are three villages; Manchester, Manchester Center and Manchester Depot.

From 1850 into the 1920s, Manchester entered its resort phase. The natural beauty of the area and its relative lack of development drew tourists. Franklin Orvis opened Manchester’s most famous hotel, the Equinox, in 1853, which became the centerpiece of Manchester's tourist industry.

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.

Town Histories
Equinox House history

Manchester, Vermont: A Pleasant Land Among the Mountains. Locate this book in a library.

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

Probate Records
The Family History Library has microfilm of Probate records (Manchester District, Vermont), 1779-1914.

Digital images of Vermont, Bennington County, Manchester District, probate records, 1779-1935 are availble online at FamilySearch.

The probate district for Manchester is Manchester. Manchester Probate Court P.O. Box 446, Manchester, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 362-1410

Maps
1856 Manchester map

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


 * Dellwood Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Factory Point Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Oreb Taylor Family Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Roberts Homestead Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Churches
1. Christ Our Savior Parish   398 Bonnet St.    Manchester Center, VT 05255    Phone: (802) 362-1380

2. First Congregational Church   3624 Main St.    Manchester, VT 05254    Phone: (802) 362-2709

3. Northshire Baptist Fellowship   5769 Main St.    Manchester Center, VT 05255    Phone: (802) 362-1988

4. St John's Chapel   3512 Main St.    Manchester Center, VT 05255    Phone: 802) 362-0884

Town Records
The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Manchester Town Clerks Office. These include Land records, 1761-1901; general index to land records, 1761-1950, Records of births, marriages, deaths, 1857-1995, Town records, v. 1, 1831-1919, and Card index to vital statistics in the early land and town records books.

Manchester Town Clerk 6039 Main Street Manchester Center, VT 05255) Phone: (802) 362-1313, option 1 Website: http://www.manchester-vt.gov/content/town-clerks-office

Newspapers
The Manchester Journal

Libraries and Historical Societies
Mark Skinner Library 48 West Rd Manchester, VT 05254 Phone:(802) 362-2607 Email: info@MarkSkinnerLibrary.org Website: http://markskinnerlibrary.org/home/

Manchester Historical Society Mark Skinner Library 48 West Road, Manchester, VT Mailing Address: PO Box 363, Manchester, VT 05254 Email: judyannh@together.net Phone: (802) 362-3708 Contact: Judith Harwood, Curator