Essex County, Vermont Genealogy
Guide to Essex County, Vermont ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Essex County, Vermont | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Vermont, United States Genealogy | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | November 5, 1792 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Guildhall |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Essex County Courthouse P.O. Box 75 Guildhall, VT 05905-0075 Phone:802-676-3910 Fax: 802-676-3463 Essex County Website |
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for the county of Essex in England. The County is located in the northeast area of the state. [1]
Essex County, Vermont Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1884 | 1800 | 1884 | 1800 | 1762 | 1791 | 1790 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County Clerk has birth and death records from 1884, marriage and burial records, a few divorce records, court records from 1800 and land records from 1762; Probate Judge has probate records from 1800.
Towns Organized Before 1800:
Bloomfield 1762
Brunswick 1761
Canaan 1782
Concord 1780
Guildhall 1761
Lunenburg 1763
Maidstone 1761
Victory 1781 [3]
Quick Facts[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
For animated maps illustrating Vermont County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Vermont County Boundary Maps" (1764-1895) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]
Towns
Extinct Towns[5]
Unincorporated [6]
|} Community
- Island Pond
Neighboring Counties
Caledonia | Orleans | Coös, New Hampshire | Grafton, New Hampshire | Compton, Quebec | Stanstead, Quebec
Resources[edit | edit source]
Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| VTTombstone Project | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| VTGenWeb | VTInterment | |
| Billion Graves | FamilySearch Places | |
| See Vermont Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- List of Essex County Cemeteries
- Random Acts VT Cemetery Records Research Guide
Census Records[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1800 | 1,479 | — |
| 1810 | 3,087 | 108.7% |
| 1820 | 3,284 | 6.4% |
| 1830 | 3,981 | 21.2% |
| 1840 | 4,226 | 6.2% |
| 1850 | 4,650 | 10.0% |
| 1860 | 5,786 | 24.4% |
| 1870 | 6,811 | 17.7% |
| 1880 | 7,931 | 16.4% |
| 1890 | 9,511 | 19.9% |
| 1900 | 8,056 | −15.3% |
| 1910 | 7,384 | −8.3% |
| 1920 | 7,364 | −0.3% |
| 1930 | 7,067 | −4.0% |
| 1940 | 6,490 | −8.2% |
| 1950 | 6,257 | −3.6% |
| 1960 | 6,083 | −2.8% |
| 1970 | 5,416 | −11.0% |
| 1980 | 6,313 | 16.6% |
| 1990 | 6,405 | 1.5% |
| 2000 | 6,459 | 0.8% |
| 2010 | 6,306 | −2.4% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church Records[edit | edit source]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
History[edit | edit source]
- Jeffrey, William H. Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans Counties. East Burke, Vermont, The Historical Publishing Company, 1904. Internet Archive.
- Child, Hamilton Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887. Caledonia County, Vermont, Syracuse Journal Company, Printers and Binders, 1887. Google Books.
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Military Records[edit | edit source]
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
The following historical newspapers cover Essex County.
- Essex County Herald, (Guildhall, Vermont) 1873-1964, Essex County Herald Association. Dates of publication: 1873-1963. Published weekly.
- The Caledonian : (St. Johnsbury, Vermont) 1837-1867, A.G. Chadwick. Dates of publication:1837-1867. Published weekly.
- St. Johnsbury Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vermont) 1867-1919. C.M. Stone & Co. Dates of publication:1867-1919. Published weekly.
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1749 - 1999 Vermont Wills and Probate Records 1749-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1800 - 1921 Vermont Probate Files 1800-1921 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Town Records[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2005 - Vermont, Town Records, 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vermont vital records were kept on the town level, and the date when formal record keeping began varied from place to place. A law requiring civil registration was enacted in 1779.
In 1857, the state began requiring town clerks to create records of the previous year’s vital events and send them to the secretary of state. The state sent cards to cities and towns, where clerks filled them out with data extracted from their vital records and then sent them back.
Those conducting research for a family that resided in one particular town should also contact the town clerk of the town where the vital event took place. A list of town clerks can be found on the Vermont Secretary of State website.
All of the vital records in the state registry are available online. There are no restrictions on public access to Vermont vital records.
- Vermont birth, marriage, and death records in Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954 (How to Use this Collection) and Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-2008 (How to Use this Collection) are available through FamilySearch.org.
- Vermont birth, marriage, and death records from 1720-1908 are available through Ancestry.com
- Requests for informational copies may be submitted to the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration via U.S. mail or emailed to vitals@sec.state.vt.us. Researchers may submit up to two requests at a time.
- 1732 - 2005 Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
- 1850 - 2005 Vermont, Town Records, 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
See also How to order Vermont Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Vermont Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Certificates and Death Certificates for applications to mail.
Societies, Libraries and Museums[edit | edit source]
See also a List of Vermont Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical and Genealogical Societies
Historical Societies[edit | edit source]
- Bakersfield Historical Society
Bakersfield, VT 05441
Phone: 802-827-3042
- Canaan Historical Society
27 Park Street
Canaan, VT 05903
Phone: 802-266-3989
- Concord Historical Society
PO Box 301
Concord, VT 05824-0301
Phone: 802-695-3330
- Island Pond Historical Society
PO Box 408
Island Pond, VT 05846
Phone: 802-723-4345
- Lunenburg Historical Society
PO Box 195
Lunenburg, VT 05906
802-274-6836
Website
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Essex County, VT History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Vermont Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- The Essex County VTGenWeb Project, an member of The VTGenWeb Project
- The USGenWeb Archives Project
- The USGenWeb Archives Project
- FamilySearch Catalog
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Essex, Vermont" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_County,_Vermont accessed 6 Dec 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Essex County, Vermont . Page 698-699 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 686-687.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 698. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Essex_ County,_Vermont," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_County,_Vermont accessed 24 October 2019.
- ↑ Michael J. Leclerc, Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research, 5th ed. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012), 394-95. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974 D27g 2012.
- ↑ Leclerc, 394-95.
