Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 70, 108 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 05402; (802) 863-7275 (Make check or money order payable to Vermont Department of Health)
Public Records Division in Middlesex
(802) 828-3286
Fax: (802) 828-3710.
Land & Probate records thru the 1970's are at the Public Records Division
Remarks: For past 5 years order from Dept of Health, Prior to
5 years ago order from Public Records Division
Most early birth records contain very little biographical information. Typical early New England town and church records, for example, give little information beyond the name of the child, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. Some localities listed only the name of the father.
While early birth records can be discouragingly lacking in information, by the mid-nineteenth century birth records in the United States began to include more information. Even though births were not widely recorded during the early years of America’s existence, the records that do exist may be the only source of a birth date for an individual and should always be consulted.
Delayed births are also important vital registrations that you should consider for obtaining biographical information. When Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937, individuals claiming benefits had to document their birth even if the state of their birth did not require registration when they were born. Individuals who were not registered with state or county agencies at the time of their birth often applied for a delayed birth registration. Obtaining passports, insurance, and other benefits also required proof of age. Applications were accompanied with full name, address, and date and place of birth; father’s name, race, and place of birth; and evidence to support the facts presented. The evidence could be in the form of a baptismal certificate, Bible record, school record, affidavit from the attending physician or midwife, application for an insurance policy, birth certificate of a child, or an affidavit from a person having definite knowledge of the facts. Delayed birth records are usually filed and indexed separately from regular birth registrations, and it may be necessary to request a separate search for them.
Remarks: For past 5 years order from Dept of Health, Prior to
5 years ago order from Public Records Division
Event: Divorce
Cost
of copy: $7.00
Remarks: For past 5 years order from Dept of Health, Prior to
5 years ago order from Public Records Division
If the State offices do not have the record, contact the Town
Clerk in the town where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Because of the importance of the legal distribution and control of property, most states and counties began to record marriages before births and deaths. The recording of a marriage is a two-step process. Traditionally, couples apply for a license to marry, and the applications are usually filed loose among other applications or in bound volumes. Marriage returns are filed once the marriage has taken place. The latter document is the proof of a marriage (not the license application).
Marriage applications are often filled out by both the bride and groom and typically contain a significant amount of genealogical information. They may list full names of the bride and groom, their residences, races, ages, dates and places of birth, previous marriages, occupations, and their parents’ names, places of birth, and occupations.
Marriage certificates are issued by counties after the marriage ceremony is completed, and these are usually found among family items. While the certificates tend to have less biographical data than the application, the name of the individual officiating at the wedding may lead you to religious records by revealing the denomination. The religious records, in turn, may reveal the names of witnesses and other useful information.
Early American records sometimes include marriage bonds, which served as a protection for the future children of the marriage. A bond obligated a prospective groom to pay the bond if he were discovered to be a bigamist or imposter or otherwise ineligible to contract a valid marriage. As long as the marriage was legal, the bond was void. Bonds generally include the groom’s name, name of the surety, the sum, and the date of the agreement.
Remarks: For past 5 years order from Dept of Health, Prior to
5 years ago order from Public Records Division
Early death records in the United States provide little more than the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the place of death. Obituaries and cemetery, court, and other records often provide more information about the deceased than do most official death records created before the last quarter of the 1800s.
By 1900 death records included more details. They often include the name of the deceased; date, place, and cause of death; age at the time of death; place of birth; parents’ names; occupation; name of spouse; name of the person giving the information; the informant’s relationship to the deceased; the name and address of the funeral director; and the place of burial. Race is listed in some records, and modern death certificates generally include a Social Security number.
The first settlers of Vermont carried on the early New England tradition of recording events at the town level. The vital records are incomplete before mandatory registration began in 1857. Marriages and deaths in the pre-1857 period were less likely to be recorded.
Anyone can search the microfilm at the Public Records Division, or a search can be requested by mail for a charge of $7 per event. This includes a certified copy of the microfilmed index card, if found, containing a reference for locating the original record in the individual town records.
The microfilmed card index is broken down into eight time periods: 1760-1870; 1871-1908; 1909-41; 1942-54; 1955-1979; 1980; 1981; and 1982.
Separate cards for births, marriages (both bride and groom), death, and cemetery records are in the index.
Cemetery cards, however, appear only in the 1760-1870 microfilm grouping. The statewide index was created about 1919, and in the process, the state surveyed all the cemeteries in Vermont to record deaths before 1857, the year mandatory recording began. Generally, only those gravestones that were still standing in 1919 and mentioned deaths before 1857 were included in the survey.
Microfilm copies of the first two time periods (1760-1870, 1871-1908) are additionally available at the New England Historic Genealogical Society and through the FHL.
After 1857, many births were recorded before a child was named. Unnamed infants are listed in reverse chronological order in the front of that surname's listing in the card index. The index is filed in strict alphabetical order. Variants in spellings must be checked thoroughly.
While the state issues a certified copy of the microfilmed index card as its “official” record, the original record in the town clerk's office, often recorded with other family vital records, may provide additional information helpful in research. Once the index card has been located with the reference for the original record, it is often important to obtain a copy of the event as it appears in its original form. The reference on the index card will indicate where to locate the event in the town's original records. Since a large majority of the town's original records are also on microfilm in the Public Records Division, microfilm copies of the originals can be researched there. Vermont's town records before 1850 are also on microfilm through the FHL, although the holdings are not as complete as at the Public Records Division.
