Calais, Washington County, Vermont Genealogy

United States

New England

Vermont

Washington County

Calais

Town Information

Description

Calais, Vermont at Wikipedia

The township was granted to Col. Jacob Davis, who was the first settler of Montpelier, to Stephen Fay and to sixty-eight other men was on Oct. 21, 1780 by the Vermont State Legislature convening at Arlington, Vermont. The charter was granted on August 15, 1781 which is the real and actual date of the birth of the town of Calais after the fee for granting the township was paid in full to the Legislature.

Calais contains the unincorporated communities of Adamant, East Calais, North Calais, Kent's Corner, Maple Corner and Pekin.

Populated Places

Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities,
Districts, and Census-Designated Places:

Town Records

In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

Calais Town Clerk

• Calais Town Clerk
  3120 Pekin Brook Rd.
  East Calais, VT 05650
  Phone: (802) 456-8720
  Email: calais.townclerk@gmail.com
  

Website

Vital Records

• FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.

Births

• 1909-Onward Vermont, Births at MyHeritage — index ($)

Resources

For more County and State resources see:

Biographies

• Biographical Encyclopædia of Vermont of the Nineteenth Century. By H Clay Williams. Boston, Massachusetts: Metropolitan Publishing & Engraving Company, 1885. Salt Lake City, Utah : Family Search International, 2018. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Biographical Sketches of Vermonters. By Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, Vermont : Vermont Historical Society, c1947. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. By Hiram Carleton. New York, New York: Lewis Pub. Co., 1903. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Vols. 1-2.
• Some Vermont Ancestors: The Bicentennial Project of the Genealogical Society of Vermont. Compiled and ed. by Joann H. Nichols. [S.l.]: Genealogical Society of Vermont, 1976. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: a Magazine Embracing a History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military. By ed. by Abby Maria Hemenway. Burlington, Vermont: A.M. Hemenway, 1868-1923. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 1-6.
• The Vermont of Today: With its Historic Background, Attractions and People. By Arthur F. Stone. New York, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., c1929. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Vols. 1-4.
• Vermonters. By Dorman B.E. Kent. Tucson, Arizona: W.C. Cox & Co., 1974. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Vermont Biography at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Cemeteries

• Calais Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
• Calais Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Washington County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Washington County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places
  

The following is a list of major cemeteries in present-day Calais. For location of all cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Washington County, website at this link.

• Ainsworth Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  
• Fairview Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
• Robinson Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  
• Short Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.

Census

• Vermont Census at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Church Records

Historically, the largest religious groups in Vermont were the Congregational, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Methodist churches. For general information about Vermont denominations, view the New Hampshire Church Records wiki page.

To see the churches in Calais, visit.

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. The following are church records available online for the town of Calais:

• 1700s-1800s Vermont Miscellaneous Records (Includes Vermont Church Records)(*) Daughters of the American Revolution at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
• Vermont Church Records

City Directories

• Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Court Records

• Judiciary of Vermont at Wikipedia
• Vermont Judiciary, Resources for Media at vermont.gov ($) - click on Records Request
• United States District Court for the District of Vermont at Wikipedia
• Vermont Court Records at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Land Records

• 1600s-1900s Vermont Land Records, Early to 1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($),
• Vermont Land and Property

Maps

This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps

• Boundary Map of Calais at HomeTownLocator
• Calais at FamilySearch Places
• Calais at Google Maps
• Calais at Mapcarta
• McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
• Old Maps of Vermont at Old-Maps.com
• Town of Calais at Vermont.org
• Vermont Maps State Page
  
  

• 1873 map of Calais

Military

Searchable by Town

Newspapers

• Burlington Free Press
• Free Online Newspapers for Research at libraries.vermont.gov
• List of Newspapers in Vermont at Wikipedia
• Newspapers of Record at Vermont State Archives & Records Administration
• Vermont Newspapers at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Obituaries

• 1800s-current U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1980-2014 United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 2003-2014 Vermont Obituaries, 2003-2014(*) NewsBank (Naples, Florida) at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• Vermont Obituaries at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Other Town Records

In Vermont, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town. These records may include the following:

Births Marriages Deaths Burials Cemetery records Appointments Earmarks Estrays (stray animals) Freemens' oaths (men eligible to vote) Land records Mortgages Name changes Care of the poor School records Surveys Tax lists Town meeting minutes Voter registrations Warning outs (of town)

The following are Calais town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1746-1944, can be found on *FamilySearch (browse only images).

• Vermont, Washington County, Calais, land records, 1850-1903, can be found on FamilySearch (browse only images).
  

The FamilySearch Library has microfilm of original records from the Calais Town Clerk's Office. These include *Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1857-1944; indexes of births, marriages, deaths, 1742-1950

• Deeds, 1790-1853.

Probate Records

• The probate district for Calais is Washington.
  Washington District Probate Court
  10 Elm St. #3
  Montpelier, VT 05602
  Phone: (802) 828-3405
  
• 1749-1999 Vermont, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1800-1921 Vermont Probate Files, 1800-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Vermont Probate Records

Tax Records

• 1861-1866 Internal revenue assessment lists for Vermont, 1861-1866(*) United States. Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• Vermont Taxation at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Research Facilities

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Essex Vermont FamilySearch Center
• Montpelier Vermont FamilySearch Center
• South Royalton Vermont FamilySearch Center
• Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
• Thornton Public Library - New Hampshire - an affiliate library
• Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

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To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Due to contractual agreements, some images and/or databases on FamilySearch.org may only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.