Cemetery records, such as tombstone and sexton’s records, may give birth and death dates, age at death, name of spouse and children, and the maiden names. Sometimes they include birthplace. Tombstones may have symbols or insignias indicating military service and social or religious affiliations. Family members may also be buried nearby.

Locating Cemeteries and Cemetery Records

The following book helps you locate where cemeteries can be found in Vermont:

Burial Grounds of Vermont. Townshend, Vt: Vermont Old Cemetery Association, 1991. (FHL book 974.3 V34b; computer number 693088.) This source contains 485 pages of cemetery listings with detailed maps. The lists are arranged by county, then by town. They include the first and last burial dates in the cemetery, approximate number of burials in each lot, and the condition of the lots.

For a bibliography of Vermont cemetery record transcripts, see:

Nichols, Joann H. Index to Known Cemetery Listings in Vermont. 3rd ed. Montpelier, Vt.: Vermont Historical Society, 1995. (FHL book 974.3 V32n; computer number 777008; 2nd ed. book 974.3 A1 no.27; fiche 6093892; computer number 142524.) This bibliography is arranged by county, town, and then by cemetery name. Next to each cemetery’s name is a code you can use to locate the cemetery transcript. It also includes many Family History Library microfilms.

Most Vermont gravestones from earliest times to 1870 have been transcribed and are found in the Vermont Secretary of State’s General Index to Vital Records of Vermont, Early to 1870 cited in the “Vital Records” section of this outline.

Internet Tombstone Transcripts and Index

Genealogical society members often copy and publish tombstone inscriptions (abstracts). The USGenWeb Archives have headstone abstracts from five cemeteries listed on their Internet site at:

Chase, Scott. “The Vermont Tombstone Transcription Project.” In USGenWeb Archives Digital Library [database on-line]. N.p.: USGenWeb Archives, 22 June 1999 [cited 11 August 1999]. Available at www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/vermont.html; INTERNET. This is a county-by-county list of cemeteries. The five highlighted cemeteries have tombstone abstracts. Abstracted cemeteries are indexed in:

“Search the USGenWeb Archives Digital Library” In USGenWeb Archives Digital Library [database on-line]. N.p.: USGenWeb Archives, 22 September 1997 [cited 24 August 1999]. Available at www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ussearch.htm; INTERNET. This web site indexes cemetery abstracts and other items. Select the state of interest, type the name of the ancestor you seek in the “Query” field, and click Search. For best results, use the “Search Tips” and examples at the bottom of the web page. The computer will list any matches it finds and give you the option of viewing the full transcript.

Cemetery Transcripts

The Genealogical Society of Vermont has published many cemetery transcriptions in their quarterly Branches and Twigs. See the “Periodicals” section of this outline for more information.

Some cemetery records are available for Vermont.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) copied many tombstone records. Their collection, described in the “Genealogy” section of this outline, is on microfilm at the Family History Library. It includes cemetery records for Addison, Bennington, Grand Isle, Rutland, and Windsor counties, and the towns of Dover, Bristol, Fairfax, Hardwick, Middlebury, Poultney, Pomfret, Putney, Shelburne, Waterville, Vergennes, and Waltham.

Index to James N. Arnold Tombstone Records’ Collection. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1992. (On 12 FHL films beginning with 1819819; computer number 695706.) This index is arranged alphabetically by surname and covers tombstone records in Vermont, and other states.

The Veterans Affairs Office of the Vermont Adjutant General has a veterans’ grave registration card file for veterans of wars from the American Revolution through World War I. Over 6,000 Revolutionary War veterans’ graves are listed by town in:

Crockett, Walter H. Soldiers of the Revolutionary War Buried in Vermont, and Anecdotes and Incidents Relating to Some of Them. 1903–4. Reprint, Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle Antiquarian Books, 198–?. (FHL book 974.3 M2cw; computer number 349451; FHL fiche 6078110; computer number 698533.) This book lists by town the names of those buried and includes a list of 3,196 pensioners arranged by county.

The Vermont Historical Society has a 14-drawer collection of grave registrations for soldiers of any war buried in Vermont. It has not been updated since it was created by the WPA before World War II.

Original records for cemeteries, tombstone inscriptions, and burial and removal permits are usually found in each town clerk’s office. See the “Town Records” section of this outline.

Several periodicals have published inscriptions and inventories from Vermont cemeteries. These are referenced in the “Places” section of the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), described in the “Periodicals” section of this outline.

For more information on cemetery records, see the United States Research Outline (30972.) To find more sources in the Family History Library Catalog, use a Locality Search under:

VERMONT- CEMETERIESVERMONT, [COUNTY]- CEMETERIESVERMONT, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- CEMETERIES