Brighton, Essex County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Brighton, Vermont at Wikipedia

Brighton was chartered on August 13, 1781. Brlghton has had three names. It was originally granted by Vermont in 1780 to a group of Connecticut men as Gilead. Following the lapse of the Gilead grant, the town was bought by a different group, this time, the town was was named Random. Latter-day residents came to feel that the Random name did nothing to attract either settlers or business to their town, so the legislature changed the name to Brighton in 1832, when the town's population was just over 100. The population at the 2010 US Census was 1,222.

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

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

Brighton Town Office 49 Mill St. PO Box 377 Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-4405 Website: http://www.islandpond.com/brighton.htm

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 Brighton. For location of all cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Essex County, website at this link.


 * Lakeside Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * New Protestant Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old Catholic Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Essex 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 Brighton, 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 Brighton:

City Directories

 * 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 Island Pond, Vermont.

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

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

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 Brighton town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1915 -1967, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Brighton Town Clerk's Office. These include Vital records of Brighton, Vermont, 1856, 1866-2000, [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1195245 Town record book of Brighton, Vermont, 1832-1865, including vital records, 1809-ca. 1865], and Land records, 1832-1907.

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

The probate district for Brighton is Essex. Essex Probate Court Main St. Box 426 Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-4770
 * 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

Libraries
Island Pond Public Library 49 Mill St. Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-6134

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

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

Societies
Island Pond Historical Society Inc Island Pond, VT 05846 Phone: (802) 723-5983