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 information.
