Grand Isle, Grand Isle County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Grand Isle, Vermont at Wikipedia

Grand Isle was chartered on October 27, 1779 by the Vermont Legislature. It is one of four towns (Isle La Motte, Grand Isle, North Hero, and South Hero) comprising Vermont's "Lake Champlain Islands."

Originally, North Hero, South Hero and Grand Isle were granted to Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick and 363 other Revolutionary War veterans as a single town known as Two Heroes.

In 1798, Two Heroes was divided into North Hero (the entire north island), Middle Hero and South Hero, with the last two sharing the southern island and a single representative to the legislature, hence they were not actually separate towns. This arrangement was not entirely satisfactory: in 1810, Middle Hero was given complete autonomy and renamed Grand Isle, which is what the French had originally called the whole southern island.

Grand-Isle and South Hero formed a part of Chittenden County until 1802, while the remaining three towns of Alburgh, Isle-La. Motte, and North Hero, formed a part of the County of Franklin. In 1801, the subject of forming a new county, to be called the "County of Grand-Isle," was discussed and on Nov. 9, 1802, the new county was incorporated. It was not until October, 1805, that the county was organized for the transaction of all legal public business as a county.

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

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

Grand Isle Town Clerk 9 Hyde Rd. Grand Isle, VT 05458 Phone: (802) 372-8830 Email: clerk@town.grand-isle.vt.us Website: http://www.grandislevt.org/

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 Grand Isle Town. For location of all cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Grand Isle County, website at this link.


 * Grand Isle Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hoag Cemetery - inscriptions a Find A Grave site.
 * Macomber Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Quaker Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Grand Isle Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Grand Isle 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 Grand Isle, 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 Grand Isle:
 * 1700s-1800s (*) Daughters of the American Revolution at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
 * Vermont Church Records

City Directories

 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images, ($) some towns and years may be missing

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 the South Hero Island : being the towns of South Hero and Grand Isle, Vermont, by Allen L Stratton (1980) - find this book in a library.
 * A History of the town of Grand Isle, by Jan Bender (1991) - find this book in a library.

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


 * 1871 map of Grand Isle and South Hero

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
St. Albans Messenger

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 Grand Isle town records available online:


 * Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1799-1897, are available at FamilySearch (browse only images).
 * The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Grand Isle Town Clerk's Office. These include: Vital records, Grand Isle, Vermont, 1744-Jan. 2001, and Deeds, 1799-1900; index to deeds, 1799-1949.

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

Grand Isle Probate Division 3677 U.S. Route 2 PO Box 7 North Hero VT 05474 Phone: (802) 372-8350
 * 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
Grand Isle Free Library 9 Hyde Rd. Grand Isle, VT 05458 Phone: (802) 372-4797 Email: grandislefreelibrary@hotmail.com Website: http://grandislefreelibraryvt.wordpress.com/

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Essex Vermont Family History Center
 * Plattsburgh New York Family History Center
 * Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Societies
Grand Isle Historical Society PO Box 23 Grand Isle, VT 05458 Phone: (802) 372-4058