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Wells, Rutland County, Vermont Genealogy

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Town Information

Description

Wells, Vermont at Wikipedia

The town of Wells was chartered on Sept. 15, 1761 by Benning Wentworth and organized on Mar. 9, 1773. Wells is situated in the southwestern part of Rutland county, and bounded on the north by Poultney and Middletown; on the east by Tinmouth and Middletown; on the south by Pawlet, and on the west by Washington county, New York. When New Hampshire first chartered Wells, it covered more than 23,000 acres. But two separate actions by the Vermont Legislature reduced the area. First, 6,118 acres were taken to help create Middletown in 1784. Then, 14 years later, Poultney annexed another 4,000 acres. Wells now consists of approximated 13,000 acres.

Much of the town's history is connected with Lake St. Catherine, a five-mile long body of water split between Wells and Poultney. Though referred to as St. Catherine as early as 1767 in New York land records, early residents called it Wells Pond, Lake Austin, Lake St. Austin and Lake St. Augustine.

Many people do not realize that three of the primary leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints trace their roots directly to Vermont. The first elder, Joseph Smith, was born in Royalton and his successor, Brigham Young, hailed from Whitingham. But there was another crucial player - Oliver Cowdery of Wells.

During the last 100 years, most development in Wells has concentrated along the shores of Lake St. Catherine. Wells village remains a 19th-century microcosm and because of its character has been designated a historic district on the State Register of Historic Places.

Parent Towns

Populated Places

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

Boundary Changes

Adjacent Towns

Town Records

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

Wells Town Clerk

Wells Town Clerk
108 Vermont 30
Wells, VT 05774‎
Phone: (802) 645-0486
Website: http://www.wellsvermont.com/gov_town_clerk_newcomer_msg.htm

Vital Records

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

Births

Marriages

Deaths

Divorce

Town Reports

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

The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Wells.

  • For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Rutland County, website at this link
  • Barden Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  • East Wells Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  • First Church (Meeting House) Burial Ground - inscriptions at Find a Grave site.
  • Wells Town Cemetery - inscriptions at Find a Grave site

Census

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 Wells, 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 Wells:


  • Pauls Episcapol Church
    7 East Wells Road
    Wells, VT 05774

City Directories

Compiled Genealogies

Court Records

Immigration

Land Records

Local Histories

  • The History of Wells, Vermont, for the First Century After Its Settlement, Hiland Paul with biographic sketches by Robert Parks, Tuttle & Co. Job Printers, Rutland, 1869; view online.
  • Historical Photos
  • History Rutland County Vermont, Edited by H. P. Smith and W. S. Rann, Syracuse, NY, 1886.
    2. Wells: A Combination of the Old and the New, Don Wickman, Rutland Herald Newspaper, Dec.1, 2006.

Maps

Middletown SpringsProctorRutland CityWest RutlandRutland TownIraFair HavenSudburyWest HavenBensonBrandonPittsfordHubbardtonCastletonPoultneyWellsPawletTinmouthDanbyMount TaborWallingfordMount HollyPittsfieldChittendenMendonKillingtonClarendonShrewsburyRupertDorsetPeruLandgroveAndoverWestonLudlowPlymouthBridgewaterStockbridgeRochesterWhitehallHamptonWhitehallGranvilleHebronDresdenPutnamOrwellWhitingLeicesterGoshenVermont Rutland Wells.png


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

Migration

Military

Some Records are Searchable by Town

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:

Civil War, 1861-1865

For more Civil War Military Records see:

World War I, 1917-1918

For more World War I Military Records see:

World War II, 1941-1945

For more World War II Military Records see:

Newspapers

Obituaries

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 Wells town records available online:

  • Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005, can be found on FamilySerach (browse only images) at this link
  • The FamilySearch Library has microfilm of original records from the Wells Town Hall.

Probate Records

School Records

Tax Records

Websites

Research Facilities

Archives

Libraries

Museums

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

Societies

References


v • d• e
Towns in Rutland County in Vermont articles
Vt-rutland.png
Extinct Town:
Philadelphia
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