Vermont, Town Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This article describes multiple collections containing information extracted from town records in Vermont.

Vermont, Town Records, 1850-2005

 * Bennington County: Winhall
 * Caledonia County: Harwdick, Stannard
 * Chittenden County: Bolton, Burlington, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Huntington, Milton, Richmond, Shelburne
 * Essex County: Lemington, Victory
 * Franklin County: Berkshire, Enosburg, Fairfax, Fletcher, Georgia, Highgate, Montgomery, Richford, Sheldon, St.Albans, Swanton
 * Grand Isle County: North Hero
 * Lamoille County: Belvidere, Cambridge, Eden, Elmore, Hyde Park, Johnson, Morristown, Waterville, Wolcott
 * Orange County: Bradford, Braintree, Brookfield, Chelsea, Fairlee, Newbury, Orange, Thetford, Topsham, Tunbridge, Vershire, Washington, West Fairlee
 * Orleans County: Morgan, Westfield,
 * Washington County: Barre, Cabot, Calais, East Montpelier, Montpelier, Northfield, Roxbury, Warren, Waterbury, Woodbury, Worcester

Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005

 * Addison County: Addison, Bridport, Bristol, Cornwall, Ferrisburg, Goshen, Granville, Hancock, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlebury, Monkton, New Haven, Orwell, Panton, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, Starksboro, Vergennes, Waltham, Weybridge, Whiting
 * Bennington: Bennington, Dorset, Glastenbury, Manchester, Peru, Pownal, Readsboro, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Winhall, Woodford
 * Caledonia County: Barnet, Burke, Danville, Hardwick, Kirby, Lyndon, Newark, Peacham, Ryegate, Sheffield, St. Johnsbury, Sutton, Walden, Waterford, Wheelock
 * Chittenden County: Bolton, Burlington, Charlotte, Colchester, Essex, Hinesburg, Huntington, Jericho, Milton, Richmond, Shelburne, South Burlington, St. George, Underhill, Westford, Williston, Winooski
 * Essex County: Bloomfield, Brighton, Brunswick, Canaan, Concord, East Haven, Granby, Guildhall, Lemington, Lunenburg, Maidstone, Miscellaneous, Norton
 * Franklin County: Bakersfield, Berkshire, Enosburg, Fairfax, Fairfield, Fletcher, Franklin, Georgia, Highgate, Montgomery, Richford, Sheldon, St. Albans, Swanton
 * Grand Isle: Alburg, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, South Hero
 * Lamoille County: Belvidere, Cambridge, Eden, Elmore, Hyde Park, Johnson, Mansfield, Morristown, Sterling, Stowe, Waterville, Wolcott
 * Orange County: Brandford, Braintree, Brookfield, Chelsea, Corinth, Fairlee, Newbury, Orange, Randolph, Strafford, Thetford, Topsham, Tunbridge, Vershire, Washington, West Fairlee, Williamstown
 * Orleans County: Albany, Barton, Brownington, Charleston, Coventry, Craftsbury, Derby, Glover, Greensboro, Holland, Irasburg, Jay, Lowell, Morgan, Newport, Troy, Westfield, Westmore
 * Rutland County: Benson, Brandon, Castleton, Chittenden, Clarendon, Danby, Fair Haven, Hubbardton, Ira, Mendon, Middletown Springs, Mount Holly, Mount Tabor, Pawlet, Pittsfield, Pittsford, Proctor, Rutland, Sherburne, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Tinmouth, Wallingford, Wells, West Haven, West Rutland
 * Washington County: Barre, Cabot, Calais, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Fayston, Marshfield, Middlesex,Montpelier, Moretown, Northfield, Plainfield, Roxbury, Waitsfield, Warren, Waterbury, Woodbury, Worcester
 * Windham: Athens, Brattleboro, Brookline, Dover, Dummerston, Grafton, Guilford, Halifax, Jamaica, Londonderry, Ludlow, Marlboro, Newfane, Putney, Rockingham, Somerset, Stratton, Townshend, Vernon, Wardsboro, Westminster, Whitingham, Wilmington, Windham
 * Windsor County: Andover, Baltimore, Barnard, Bethel, Bridgewater, Cavendish, Chester, Hartford, Hartland, Ludlow, Norwich, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading, Rochester, Royalton, Sharon, Springfield, Stockbridge, Weathersfield, Weston, West Windson, Windsor, Woodstock

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Child’s name and gender
 * Date and place of birth
 * Race
 * Names of parents, including maiden name of mother
 * Parents' residence
 * Father's occupation
 * Father's birthplace
 * Mother's birthplace
 * Live or stillborn birth
 * Name of medical attendant
 * Registration date of the birth

Marriage
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name and age of groom
 * Residence of groom
 * Groom's occupation
 * Number of marriages for groom
 * Groom's birthplace
 * Names of groom's parents and their birthplace
 * Name and age of bride
 * Residence of bride
 * Number of marriages for bride
 * Names of bride's parents and their birthplace
 * Name and title of person performing ceremony

Death
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of birth of deceased
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Name of surviving spouse
 * Race, residence and occupation of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Level of education of deceased
 * Names of parents
 * Name of informant and their residence
 * Name of attending physician
 * Military service
 * Burial information

Burial/Removal
 * Name of person to whom certificate was issued
 * City/town and county
 * Death date
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Medical attendant
 * Purposed date and place of burial or removal
 * Name and address of undertaker
 * Name and title of person issuing permit
 * Permit date

In addition, these records may also contain Land and Property and Military records.

Sample Images
The records are handwritten or typewritten on preprinted pages which have been bound into volumes. The collection consists of vital records (births, marriages, and deaths), cemetery records, and burial and removal permits. They are arranged by town, then by record type, then by date. The content and completeness of the records varies by town.

The earliest records are called proprietors’ records. After the proprietors sold their lands, the town clerk was the principal local record keeper. Town records generally begin with the founding of a town and are kept to the present.

Town records encompass a wide variety of record types and events and can contain records of births, marriages, deaths, burials, cemeteries, appointments, earmarks, strays (records of stray animals), military records, freemen’s oaths (men eligible to vote), land and property records, mortgages, name changes, care of the poor, school records, surveys, tax lists, town meeting minutes, voter registrations, and warnings out of town.

Births: When a birth occurs, the physician, midwife, or other birth attendant is required to complete a birth certificate and file it with the town clerk in the town of birth within 10 days. For hospital births, it is usually the medical records staff that completes the birth certificate. The completed birth certificate is recorded and filed in the town where the birth took place, and a certified copy is sent to the Health Department.

Deaths: Although a physician is responsible for filing the death certificate, the job may be, and often is, delegated to the funeral director. Most of the information needed to complete the death certificate is obtained from the family of the deceased. A physician, however, must complete the cause of death information and sign the death certificate. The funeral director files the completed certificate with the town clerk who sends a certified copy to the Health Department.

Marriage and Civil Unions: When a couple wishes to marry or establish a civil union in Vermont, they provide a town clerk with the information needed to complete the license. The couple takes the license to an officiant who signs and dates it and returns it to the town clerk. The town clerk records and files the certificate, and sends a certified copy to the Health Department.

The first settlers of Vermont carried on the early New England tradition of recording events at the town level by town clerks/treasurers. These event recordings established and delineated legal/social relationships according to the attendant norms of Vermont, and, generally the United States.

Towns in Vermont also recorded land transactions to document the transfer of land ownership and thereby establish legal rights to land, track responsibilities for taxes, and designate persons to serve in various county functions, such as maintaining public roads in earlier times.

The information given in town records is generally reliable; however, there can be transcription errors in records that undergo this copying process. The vital records are incomplete before mandatory registration began in 1857.

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:
 * The name of the person at the time of the event
 * The approximate date and place the event occurred

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records
 * The name of the officiator may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county
 * Use a marriage number to identify previous marriages
 * The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral and cemetery records which often include the names and residences of other family members
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Vermont.
 * Vermont Guided Research
 * Vermont Record Finder
 * Vermont Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Vermont Research, 1880-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Ann Smith Lainhart. Digging for genealogical treasure in New England town records. Boston, Massachusetts : New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1996 FHL 974 N2L
 * Alden M. Rollins. Vermont warnings out. 2 volumes. Camden, Maine : Picton Press, c1995-1997 FHL 974.3 N2r

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954
 * Vermont Vital Records, 1760-2008

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Benjamin W. Dean, Instructions relative to the registry and return of births, marriages, and deaths in Vermont Middlebury : Printed at the Register book and Job Office, 1859.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.