Dorset, Bennington County, Vermont Genealogy

Description
Dorset, Vermont at Wikipedia

Dorset was chartered by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth on Aug. 20, 1761.

The country's first commercial marble quarry was opened in South Dorset by Isaac Underhill in 1785 on the land of Reuben Bloomer. Over the next 130 years, two dozen or more quarries located on the slopes of Dorset Mountain and Mt. Aeolus were quarried.

It was in 1775 and 1776, that this town hosted the vitally important Dorset Conventions which set the stage for the creation of the Republic and later the state of Vermont.

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

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

Town of Dorset PO Box 715 112 Mad Tom Road East Dorset, VT 05253 Phone: (802) 362 4571 Email: dorsetclerk@gmail.com Website: http://www.dorsetvt.org/clerk.php

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

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Biographies

 * Biographical Encyclopædia of Vermont of the Nineteenth Century. By H Clay Williams. Boston, Massachusetts: Metropolitan Publishing & Engraving Company, 1885. Salt Lake City, Utah : Family Search International, 2018. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Biographical Sketches of Vermonters. By Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, Vermont : Vermont Historical Society, c1947. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. By Hiram Carleton. New York, New York: Lewis Pub. Co., 1903. Online at:.
 * Some Vermont Ancestors: The Bicentennial Project of the Genealogical Society of Vermont. Compiled and ed. by Joann H. Nichols. [S.l.]: Genealogical Society of Vermont, 1976. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: a Magazine Embracing a History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military. By ed. by Abby Maria Hemenway. Burlington, Vermont: A.M. Hemenway, 1868-1923. Online at:.
 * The Vermont of Today: With its Historic Background, Attractions and People. By Arthur F. Stone. New York, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., c1929. Online at:.
 * Vermonters. By Dorman B.E. Kent. Tucson, Arizona: W.C. Cox & Co., 1974. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Vermont Biography at FamilySearch Research Wiki

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


 * Curtis Cemetery- inscriptios at Find A Grave site.
 * East Dorset Cemetery (aka South Village Cemetery) - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Maple Hill Cemetery- inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Morse Hill Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * North Dorset Cemetery (aka Whitney Cemetery) - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Saint Jeromes Catholic Church Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.


 * Dorset Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Bennington 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 Dorset, 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 Dorset:

1. St Jerome Parish   398 Bonnet St    East Dorset, VT 05253    Phone: (802) 362-1380

2. United Church of Dorset   143 Church St    Dorset, VT 05251    Phone: (802) 867-2260

City Directories

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

Land Records

 * 1600s-1900s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($),
 * Vermont Land and Property
 * 1782-1832 (*) Bennington County (Vermont). County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
 * Vermont Land and Property

Local Histories
The Vermont Historical Gazetteer is a 5 volume set of historical information by Abby Maria Hemenway with Volume I published in 1867 and Volume V completed in 1891 after her death. History of the Dorset Inn

Dorset VT Marble History

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


 * 1856 Dorset map

Military
Searchable by Town 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
Bennington Banner Newspaper The Manchester Journal

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 Dorset town records available online:

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Dorset Town Clerks Office. These include Land records, 1764-1906; index to land records, 1764-1939, [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/665009 Town records, vols. A, C, 1-3, 1734-1949], and Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1856-1994; indexes to births, marriages, deaths, 1734-1994.

Probate Records
In Vermont, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of Dorset:
 * 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
Dorset Village Library P. O. Box 38 Route 30 &amp; Church St Dorset, VT 05251 Phone: (802) 867-5774 E-mail: dorsetlibrary@aol.com Website: http://www.dorsetlibraryinfo.org/

Family History Centers & Affiliate Libraries

 * Albany New York Family History Center
 * Bennington Vermont Family History Center
 * Concord New Hampshire Family History Center
 * Rutland Vermont Family History Center
 * Brooks Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Crandall Public Library - an affiliate library

Societies
Dorset Historical Society PO Box 52 Route 30 at Kent Hill Road Dorset, VT 05251 Phone: (802) 867-0331 E-mail: info@dorsetvthistory.org Website: http://www.dorsetvthistory.org/index.php