Chester, Windsor County, Vermont Genealogy

United States

New England

Vermont

Windsor County

Chester

Town Information

Description

Chester, Vermont at Wikipedia

• Chester was chartered by Gov. Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire. There were three charters issued: one on Feb. 22, 1754 to the town of Flamstead, the second one was issued on Nov. 3, 1761 to the town of "New Flamstead," and the third charter issued by the Gov. of New York on July 14, 1766 to the town of "Chester."

• The "Stone Village" section of town consists of 30 dwellings erected by two brothers from 1834 through the 1850s. The builders used rock quarried from Mount Flamstead as the construction stone. The mountain is the only feature that retains any reference to the town's first chartered name.

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

Chester Town Clerk

Town of Chester
P. O Box 370
Chester, VT 05143
Phone: (802) 875-2173
Website: Chester Government Office

Vital Records

• The FamilySearch Library has microfilm of original records from the Chester Town Clerk's Office. These include *Town records and land records, 1763-1903; indexes to vital records and deeds, 1763-1960*Records of births, marriages, and deaths, 1857-1996; indexes to births, marriages, deaths, 1763-1995
• FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.
  

Births

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

Town Reports

The town of Chester kept annual town reports. These reports often contained birth, marriage, and death information. Below is a list of years when Chester kept town reports. (NOTE: Occasionally, these town reports missed vital statistic information from the end of the year. If you don't find your ancestor's vital information, check the following year's town report to see if your ancestor's information was recorded later.)

1926

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

• Chester Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
• Chester Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Windsor County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
• Windsor County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Chester. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Windsor County, website at this link.

• Brookside Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
• North Street Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
• Pleasant View Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
• Poplar Grove Cemetery (aka Popple Dungeon Cemetery) - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  
• Simsbury Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
• Smokeshire Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  
• Deeds to cemetery lots, 1869-1924 (Chester, Vermont) are on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library.

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

• To see the churches in Chester, 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 Chester:

• Congregational Church of Chester
  469 Main Street
  Chester, VT 05143
  Phone: (802) 875-3382
• First Baptist Church
  162 Main Street
  Chester, VT 05143
  Phone: (802) 875-2638
• First Universalist Unitarian Parish
  21 North Street
  Chester, VT 05143
  Phone: (802) 875-3257
• St. Joseph's Church
  148 South Main Street
  Chester, VT 05143
  Phone: (802) 875-2610
• St. Luke's Episcopal Church
  313 Main Street
  Chester, VT 05143
  Phone: (802) 875-6000

City Directories

• 1916-1959 Vermont, U.S., City Directories, Chester at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
• Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) 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

Local Histories

• Go to Archive.org to find published materials for this town.
• The source: Popple Dungeon, Vermont, the settlement, farms and genealogy of a small community in Vermont, by Virginia Blake Clark, 1922 - view digital version at FamilySearch.
  

Maps

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

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

• 1869 map of Chester

Military Records

Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:

• Vermont Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
• United States Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Civil War, 1861-1865

• Records of enrolled militia, 1863, are available on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library.

For more Civil War Military Records see:

• Vermont Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865
• United States Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865

World War I, 1917-1918

For more World War I Military Records see:

• Vermont Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918
• United States Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918

World War II, 1941-1945

For more World War II Military Records see:

• Vermont Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
• United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Newspapers

• Rutland Herald Newspaper
• 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 Chester town records available online:

• Digital images of Chester Town records, 1790-1996, are available online at FamilySearch.

Probate Records

• The probate district for Chester is Windsor.
  Windsor Probate Court
  PO Box 402 (Cota Fuel Bdg)
  N. Springfield, VT 05150
  Phone: (802) 886-2284
  
• 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

Libraries

Whiting Library
117 Main Street
Chester, VT 05143
Phone: (802) 875-2277
Email: whitinglibrary@yahoo.com
Website: Whiting Library Wordpress

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

• Lebanon New Hampshire FamilySearch Center
• Rutland Vermont FamilySearch Center
• Bath Public Library - an affiliate library
• Crandall Public Library - an affiliate library
• Meredith Public Library - an affiliate library
• Thornton Public Library - New Hampshire - an affiliate library

Societies

Chester Historical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 118
Chester, VT 05143
Phone: (802) 875-5459
Email: knotz69@gmail.com
Website: Chester Gov Office Index

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