Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont Genealogy

Town Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Rockingham is a town in Windham County along the Connecticut River and was chartered by Gov. Benning Wentworth on December 28, 1752. Rockingham includes the incorporated villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River. Rockingham has no formal town center, instead town offices and the Rockingham Public Library are located in the village of Bellows Falls. ^[1]^[2]

Parent Towns[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

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

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

Adjacent Towns[edit | edit source]

Town Records[edit | edit source]

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

Rockingham Town Clerk[edit | edit source]

Town of Rockingham & Village of Bellows Falls, Vermont
7 Square
PO Box 370
Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Phone: (802) 463-4336.
Website

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

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

Births[edit | edit source]

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

Marriages[edit | edit source]

Deaths[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Town Reports[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

For more County and State resources see:

Biographies[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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

Cambridgeport Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
Rockingham Meeting House Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.

Rockingham Cemeteries List at Find a Grave
Rockingham Cemeteries at FamilySearch Catalog
Windham County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Census[edit | edit source]

Vermont Census at FamilySearch Research Wiki

Church Records[edit | edit source]

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 Rockingham, 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 Rockingham:

Records of the First Church of Rockingham, Vermont : from its organization, October 27, 1773, to September 25, 1839 - view a digital version of these records online free of charge.

City Directories[edit | edit source]

Bellows Falls City Directories, 1901 thru 1935, are available on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library.
Bellows Falls City Directories, 1901-1967, are available on Ancestry.com ($)
Vermont City Directories in Vermont Repositories
Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Compiled Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Court Records[edit | edit source]

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

Immigration[edit | edit source]

Land Records[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

History of the town of Rockingham, Vermont, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1753-1907, with family genealogies (1907), by Lyman Simpson Hayes - view a digital version of this book online free of charge.
History of the Town of Rockingham, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1907-1957, by Frances Stockwell Lovell and Everett C. Lovell, 1958 - find this book in a library.
The old Rockingham meeting house, erected 1787 and the first church in Rockingham, Vermont, 1773-1840, by Lyman and William Hayes (1915) - view a digital version of this book online free of charge.

Maps[edit | edit source]

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

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

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military[edit | edit source]

Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783[edit | edit source]

Civil War, 1861-1865[edit | edit source]

World War I, 1917-1918[edit | edit source]

World War II, 1941-1945[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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 Rockingham town records available online:

Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1857-1983, can be found on FamilySerach (browse only images).

The FamilySearch Library has microfilm of original records from the Rockingham Town Clerk's Office. These include Land records, 1761-1919; index to land records v. 1-23, 1779-1881 and Rockingham Justice of the Peace Marriage Records, 1839-1872.

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

The probate district for Rockingham is Westminster.
Westminster Probate Court
PO Box 47
Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Phone: (802) 463-3019

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

School Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

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

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Rockingham Free Public Library
65 Westminster Street
Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Phone: (802) 463 4270
Website

Museums[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Centers & Affiliate Libraries[edit | edit source]

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