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 | |
| 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 |
Contents
- 1 County Courthouse
- 2 Quick Facts
- 3 Places / Localities
- 4 Resources
County Courthouse
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.
Bloomfield 1762
Brunswick 1761
Canaan 1782
Concord 1780
Guildhall 1761
Lunenburg 1763
Maidstone 1761
Victory 1781 [1]
Quick Facts
Parent County
Boundary Changes
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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places / Localities
Towns
Extinct Towns[2]
Unincorporated [3]
Community
- Island Pond
Neighboring Counties
Caledonia | Orleans | Coös, New Hampshire | Grafton, New Hampshire | Compton, Quebec | Stanstead, Quebec
Resources
Archives and Libraries
Cemeteries
| 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 | |
| EPodunk | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Vermont Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- List of Essex County Cemeteries
- Random Acts VT Cemetery Records Research Guide
Church Records
Court Records
Gazetteers
History
- 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
Maps
Military Records
Newspapers
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
Online Probate 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
Taxation
Vital Records
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 and Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-2008 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.
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
See also a List of Vermont Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical and Genealogical Societies
Historical Societies
Bakersfield Historical Society
Bakersfield, VT 05441
Phone: 802-827-3042
Website
Canaan Historical Society
27 Park Street
Canaan, VT 05903
Phone: 802-266-3989
Website
Essex Community Historical Society
PO Box 8388
Essex, VT 05451
Phone: 802-879-0849
Website
Essex Junction Historical Society
11 Maple Street
Essex Junction, VT 05452
Phone: 802-878-8654
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
Phone: 802-892-6102
Website
Family History Centers
Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.
Websites
- Essex County, VT History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Vermont Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 698. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ 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.
