User:Kehoemw/Sandbox

United States Vermont  Orange   Chelsea 

Brief History
The town of Chelsea was chartered on August 4, 1781 by the Vermont State Legislature and was settled in 1784.

The first-named grantee of the town was originally named Turnersburgh. A Town Meeting in 1788 found most of the residents wanting to change the name to Brookline. Not having elected a representative yet, they entrusted Seth Austin (neighboring Tunbridge's represenative) to tell the legislature the name they wanted. Nobody is really sure what hgappened, but by the time the legislative vote was finished, the name had been switched to Chelsea.

A unique feature of Chelsea is the two commons, or greens, as they were called in the early history of the town. Chelsea is located near the center of Orange County and in 1795, it was designated as the seat of the county government, thus becoming the "Shire Town."

Historical Data
Historical Chelsea Photos

Town Histories

 * The History of Brookfield, Vermont, by the Brookfield Historical Society (1988) - find this book in a library.
 * A little collection of pictures around and about Brookfield, Vermont: Vermont bicentennial, 1791-1991 - find this book in a library.

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

Probate Records
The probate district for Chelsea is Orange. Orange Probate Court 5 Court St Chelsea VT 05038 Phone: (802) 685-4610

Maps
1877 map of Brookfield

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


 * Brookfield Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * East Brookfield Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * East Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * West Brookfield Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.

Town Records.
Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1910-1997, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).

Brookfield, land records, 1850-1916, can be found on FamilySearch (brouse only images).

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Chelsea Town Clerk's Office. These include Deeds, 1786-1850; index to deeds, 1786-1872, and Vital records, 1799-1997; indexes to vital records, 1796-1996; index to family records, 1779-1855.

Chelsea Town Clerk P.O. Box 266 296 VT Rte. 110 Chelsea, VT 05 Phone: (802) 685-4460 Email: town.clerk@chelseavt.us Website: http://www.chelseavt.org/

Newspapers
The Herald of Randolph

Libraries and Historical Societies
Brookfield Public Library 40 Ralph Rd Brookfield, VT 05036 Phone: (802) 276-3358 Email: brookfieldpl@vals.state.vt.us Website: http://brookfieldpubliclibrary.wordpress.com/

Brookfield Historical Society P.O. Box 447 Brookfield, VT 05036 Website: http://brookfieldhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/