Genealogy Resources at the Vermont State Archives

• Vital Records. Birth, marriage, death, and divorce records are available for research through the State Archives as well as online

• The Manuscript Vermont State Papers (c. 1760 to 1860) include the earliest records of Vermont state government. Individuals who signed petitions to the legislature, received pardons, were paid out of the state treasury, or otherwise interacted with the state government may appear in the records. The Nye Index offers name and subject access to these records. The portion of that index which references records created before 1800 can be searched online.

• Naturalization records preserved by the State Archives include petitions, declarations of intention, and certificates of citizenship from select County and Municipal Courts, as well as petitions and declarations of intention from the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.

• Probate court records include records related to the probate of wills, the settlement of estates, guardianships, adoptions, and name changes. The State Archives holds microfilm copies of record books from every probate district up to 1850, as well as the original records from a select number of courts for later years.

• Military Records at the State Archives include the Records of the Adjutant and Inspector General and the Military Records Collection. The records range from the time of the American Revolution to the Vietnam War.

• Vermont State Prison records at the State Archives include indexes, registers, and description books of individuals sent to the State Prison at Windsor between 1809 and 1975.

• The Eugenics Survey of Vermont (1925-1936) was a privately-funded organization directed by Henry F. Perkins, a zoology professor at the University of Vermont. The purpose of the organization was to conduct studies of Vermont families and communities based on eugenics research models and to support a program of social legislation that would allegedly improve the inborn quality of future generations of Vermonters. As part of this work, the survey developed detailed pedigrees of the families that it studied. Those pedigrees are available for research at the State Archives.

• Lotting plans can be helpful in identifying where the original grantees of a town owned land. When used in conjunction with other land records, they can also be helpful in identifying where subsequent landowners owned property. Numerous lotting plans - some containing the names of grantees - can be researched online.

• Town records in the State Archives consist of microfilm copies of the original volumes found in municipal clerks offices throughout Vermont. Depending on the municipality, the records can include land records, vital records, proprietors' records, town meeting records, cemetery records, and/or church records. Not all towns however are represented. A card index to these microfilms is available in VSARA's Reference Room.

Other Sources

• The Vermont Department of Libraries in Montpelier holds Federal census records of Vermont (1790-1920) and the state's largest newspaper collection, which includes obituaries.

• The Vermont Historical Society's Leahy Library in Barre has an extensive collection of genealogical material and offers some online resources.

• The Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society maintains a library in Colchester and offers several classes on genealogical research throughout the year.

• The Genealogical Society of Vermont publishes the journal Vermont Genealogy, accepts research queries, and hosts biannual meetings.

 

 

Please direct all reference questions or research inquiries to:

VSARA Reference Room Staff

EMAIL:

(For vital records requests use: )

PHONE: 802-828-2308

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