Vermont County Listings - Even though the political division of county has little meaning in Vermont, there are some county land records, primarily for unorganized towns, and county court records located at the appropriate county office. In addition, county designation is necessary for census research. For nine of Vermont's counties, the probate district follows the county's political boundaries. For six counties—Addison, Bennington, Orange, Rutland, Windham and Windsor—there are, or have been, two probate districts within the county's boundaries. The following listing delineates the county address, parent county and date of formation; what land and other records in addition to those recorded in towns are available that were recorded by entire county; the name and address of the probate district; and the dates probate district records are extant.
Town records are extremely important in Vermont research. Each town clerk's office holds the original deed, vital, tax, and town meeting records. Included in town or proprietor's meeting records are such valuable sources as lists of freemen (new voters in town), annual election of officers, school records, hog or cattle marks, warnings out to those for whom the town will not assume legal responsibility, militia, and accounts of various town officials. Many of Vermont's town meeting records have been microfilmed and can be located at either the Public Records Division (see Land Records) or through the FHL. Town clerks rarely have time to do more than a cursory search of the deed or vital records indexes, however each office is open to the public for research purposes.
On the county pages below, the town clerk's address (1990 Secretary of State listing) is given. The date that it was granted and the colony which first claimed it are given. Competing claims are listed underneath. In some cases competing claims covered more than what is now one town. “Other Names” indicates the names used in early town records or the town it was part of before creation. Not all “other names” are given here, only those that are noted specifically by Swift or by the listing at the Public Records Division. The present county, with parent county underneath, is listed. Since town formation often pre-dates Vermont county formation, the county designation may be helpful in identifying earlier land descriptions and locating towns in census records.
Parent counties will be particularly helpful for census search in Washington and Lamoille County towns since those counties were formed after the 1800 census. Probate district and court district are listed also. Use the town address for correspondence with the clerk regarding vital records and land records; use the probate and court addresses in the County Resources for those records. Only a few towns have lost records. Choose from the counties below to view the County & Town information.
If you Cannot use, activate or see the map below then use the County Selection Table to select a County
Vermont State History -Vermont, one of the six New England states and one of the smaller states of the United States. It is bordered on the west by New York, on the north by the Canadian province of Québec, on the east by New Hampshire, and on the south by Massachusetts.
Despite its proximity to the coastal settlements of the early colonists in the 17th century, Vermont did not receive its first permanent settlement until 1724, and its population grew slowly for 50 years thereafter. Vermont entered the Union on March 4, 1791, the first new state admitted after the nation’s founding by the 13 original states.
Most of Vermont lies outside the intense economic and population concentrations that characterize the eastern seaboard. Its economy is based on industry, although the large amounts of farmland and pastureland give the state an agricultural appearance. Its urban centers are small, as are most of the industrial enterprises. In recent years Vermont has received increasing attention as a vacation area, both in summer and winter. Its rural atmosphere and scenic beauty are highly attractive to residents of nearby urban regions in both the United States and Canada.
The name of the state is derived from the French words vert (green) and mont (mountain), and Vermont is known as the Green Mountain State. Montpelier is the capital of Vermont. Burlington is the largest city. The Official State Website is http://www.vermont.gov/
Vermont had its beginnings in a land controversy. Near the middle of the eighteenth century, both Benning Wentworth, the colonial governor of New Hampshire, and Lt. Governor Cadwallader Colden, representing the colonial government of New York, claimed territory in what is now Vermont. Massachusetts claimed a small part along Vermont's southern border. Each government petitioned the king to validate their boundaries to include the disputed Vermont land. However, the process of petitioning did not stop either New Hampshire or New York from issuing grants for the same land to their own proprietors and the proprietors in turn selling the land to settlers.
Settlers from lower New England and New York began to arrive in "The Grants," as they were called, in the 1760s. Previous residents of the land included a few French settlements in the northern part of the state, the remainder of the Native American population in the region after the French and Indian Wars, and some early New England settlers around Fort Dummer on the Vermont River. By 1760, most of these settlers, with the exception of the remaining Abenaki tribe, had moved back to more populated areas in New England and Canada. Life for those settling "The Grants" consisted of clearing rock-laden forests. The settlers were also faced with the uncertainty as to whether the land they were homesteading was really theirs or belonged to someone else who also thought they had a legitimate claim.
The Vermont land controversy between New York and New Hampshire about the grants was complicated by different types of land ownership practiced by the two colonial governments. Those who received grants from New York were generally from the upper classes and leased their land on a rental basis to others who farmed it for them. New Hampshire grants were generally given to middle class farmers and civic leaders, who in turn sold the land outright to those who settled it and farmed it. England settled the controversy in favor of New York in 1764-a decision unpopular with most Vermonters.
This land controversy, the French and Indian War in the early 1750s, and the onset of the American Revolution kept the number of actual settlers coming into Vermont low. Vermont declared itself independent in 1777, not answerable to England or the governors of New York or New Hampshire. Vermont recognized the land grants made by New Hampshire only and began issuing grants of its own for land previously not claimed. Settlement began in earnest once the Revolution was concluded in 1783. At the same time, Vermont attempted, with a good deal of ambivalence according to some historians, to become part of the union, eventually achieving statehood in 1791.
Initially, after statehood, population soared. Geography played a critical role in the state's settlement. The Green Mountains run north-south through the center of the state, leaving the rivers as the major east-west conduits for travel and dividing the state into mountainous areas and river valleys, flood plains, and rock-laden terrain. Lake Champlain, running along most of the state's western border provided means of western migration to New York and beyond.
Today's roads generally follow the same migration trails as were cut during the settlement period. Small farms, nestled among the valleys and in the Lake Champlain region, and small industries using Vermont's forest resources constituted the major economic life of the state. Merino sheep and Morgan horses have also played their part in the attempt to create a reliable economy.
Following the War of 1812 a series of economic and meteorologic calamities occurred, including the "Year of No Summer" (1816). A major migration of those leaving the state was the result. An influx of new settlers-French-Canadians, Italians, and Irish among them-during the mid-nineteenth century changed, somewhat, the population's ethnic constitution. Vermont contributed more per capita from its treasury and from its population of young men in the Civil War than any other state in the Union. Between the 1860s and the 1970s there was little population growth. In the twentieth century, a devastating flood in the central part of the state in 1927 and the national depression in the 1930s made it difficult for Vermont to recover economically. Tourism became a strong draw in the late twentieth century, with recreational industry and a desire to retreat from urban and suburban living as part of the impetus for new settlement today.
Vermont Discontinued Counties - This section provides an list of Vermont counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states.
Cumberland County: Originally a New York county, it went out of existence as a New York entity in 1777 when Vermont became independent. Land that had been in Cumberland and Gloucester counties, N.Y., then fell under Cumberland County, Vermont, jurisdiction. Cumberland County, Vermont, was abolished in 1781 when Windham, Windsor, and Orange counties were formed.
Jefferson County: Formed in 1810; renamed Washington, 1814.
Vermont Burned Courthouses - The destruction of courthouses greatly affects genealogists in every way. No only are these historic structures torn from our lives, so are the records they housed: marriage, wills, probate, land records, and others. Once destroyed they are lost forever. Even if they have been placed on mircofilm, computers and film burn too. The most heartbreaking side of this is the fact that many of our courthouses are destroyed at the hands of arsonist. However, not all records were lost.
Below is a list of Vermont Counties and the years the Courthouses were subjected to a disaster. This does NOT mean that ALL RECORDS were lost. Often, folks took their documents again in for recording after a disaster and later deeds will contain long chains of title, etc.
Addison County - On 25 February 1852 a fire in the courthouse burned the probate records for Addison district (not New Haven). What remains for Addison Probate District records before 1852 are fragments.
Vermont County Selection Table - Select a county from the table below to to view more information on genealogical information & records pertaining to each county.
