Vermont Land and Property

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Vermont

Land and Property

Online Resources

• 1600s-1900s Vermont Land Records, Early to 1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; Also at: Ancestry ($),
• 1688-1786 New York Land Patents 1688-1786: Covering Land now Included in the State of Vermont (Not Including Military Patents)(*) Vermont. Secretary of State, & Mary Greene Nye at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1700s Massachusetts Land Grants in Vermont(*) by Herbert Williams Denio at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1700s-1800s Index to the Papers of the Surveyors-General(*) Vermont. Office of Secretary of State, & Vermont. Surveyor-General at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1700s-1900s Charters granted by the state of Vermont : being transcripts of early charters of townships and smaller tracts of land granted by the state of Vermont, with an appendix containing the Vermont charter of Woodbridge, the New Hampshire charter of St. George, and Lieut. Andrew F. Phillips grant and mortgage thereof; also historical notes relative to Vermont towns(*) Vermont. Office of Secretary of State, by Hiram A. Huse, & by Harry A. Black at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1749-1764 The New Hampshire grants being transcripts of the charters of townships : and minor grants of lands made by the provincial government of New Hampshire, within the present boundaries of the state of Vermont from 1749 to 1764; volume XXVI, town charters, volume III(*) Essex County Courts at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
• 1775-1783 Sequestration, Confiscation and Sale of Estates(*) Edited by Mary Greene Nye at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
• 1778-1787 General Petitions, 1778-1787(*) Vermont. Secretary of State, & Edward A. Hoyt, editor at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1778-1811 Petitions for Grants of Land, 1778-1811(*) Published by authority, by Rawson C. Myrick, Secretary of State, 1939. Edited by Mary Greene Nye at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1779-1846 Charters Granted by the State of Vermont, V. 1-2, 1779-1846(*) Vermont. Governor and Council at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1788-1792 General Petitions 1788-1792(*) Vermont. Secretary of State, & Edward A. Hoyt, editor at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1793-1796 General Petitions 1793-1796(*) Vermont. Secretary of State, & Allen Soule, editor at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• 1797-1799 General petitions, 1797-1799(*) Vermont. Secretary of State, & Allen Soule, editor at FamilySearch Catalog - images only
• Vermont Archives Lotting Plans Maps Database.
• State Papers of Vermont and Miscellaneous Archives Publications at Vermont State Archives & Records Administration - lists with a descriptive title the various volumes of the State Papers of Vermont.
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Vermont Land Records

Land records are primarily used to learn where a person lived and when he or she lived there. They often reveal other family information as well, such as the name of a spouse, an heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may learn a person’s previous residences, his occupation, if he had served in the military, if he was a naturalized citizen, and other clues for further research.

Early History

1600s - Vermont was part of Massachusetts.
1749 - New Hampshire claimed a large portion of the area and granted land for 129 towns in Vermont.
1764 - New York claimed jurisdiction over a large portion of the land held by New Hampshire.
1777 - Vermont became independent, and claimed the land was under its jurisdiction. The towns remained the same, and the town records contain the land deeds without regard to the political jurisdiction of the time.

Land disputes before 1777 mean that land transactions for those early years could be located in New Hampshire, New York or Vermont:

• New Hampshire
  Most New Hampshire grants within the present boundaries of Vermont, 1749 to 1764, are recorded in the New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers, Volume 26. On the Internet at iArchives. Also in the FS Library Collection, book 974.2 N2nhp v. 26, film 1033741.

• New York
  Information about New York land transactions in Vermont can be found in:
  - Vermont. Secretary of State, New York Land Patents, 1688-1786 Covering Land and Included in the State of Vermont (Not Including Military Patents), (Montpelier, Vermont : Secretary of State, 1947)FS Catalog book 974.3 B4s v. 7

- O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey, comp. Calendar of New York Colonial Manuscripts, Indorsed Land Papers in the Office of the Secretary of State of New York, 1643–1803. 1864. FS Catalog book 974.7 R2n. This indexes the Land Grant Application Files, 1642–1803, commonly referred to as the New York Colonial Manuscripts, Endorsed Land Papers, in 63 volumes at the State Archives. The records pertain to New York and Vermont.

• Vermont
  The State Papers of Vermont start in 1778. The Nye index indexes the names in several volumes, and each volume also has an index. Volume 1 indexes the papers of the Surveyors-General. Volume 2 has the charters granted by Vermont. FS Library Book 974.3 B4s
  

After 1777, land records are in the town clerk's office. Most records have been microfilmed and are available in central repositories such as the Vermont Historical Society and the FamilySearch Library.

Early Landholders

Vermont’s first landholders were called proprietors. There are many proprietors’ records in the town records of each town. Most of these records are available at the Vermont Public Records Division, General Services Center. Vermont is a state-land state. After the Revolutionary War, the land was controlled and dispersed by the state government.

Some records of early land transactions are:

• 1763 to 1803 Holbrook, Jay Mack. Vermont’s First Settlers. Oxford, Massachusetts: Holbrook Research Institute, 1976. FS Library book 974.3 R2h. This source is an alphabetized list of persons who received land grants in Vermont from 1763 to 1803. Each listing identifies the time and location of the property and the page number of the source in volume 2 of the State Papers of Vermont. See Vermont Public Records.

• 1749 to 1803 Holbrook, Jay Mack. Vermont Land Grantees 1749–1803. Oxford, Massachusetts: Holbrook Research Institute, 1986. FS Library fiche 6044861. This does not circulate to FamilySearch Centers. This source contains a listing of the first 15,000 land grants by New Hampshire, 58 percent of which are in present-day Vermont. The remainder of the land became Vermont land charters. New York did not recognize the legality of the New Hampshire land grants, and New York issued its own land patents for much of the Vermont territory. This book lists the land grant townships with maps of the localities. It includes an alphabetical list of those persons who received the grants and shows the name, year, and source of the information.

• Sequestration, Confiscation, and Sale of Estates. State Papers of Vermont, v.6. Montpelier, Vermont: Secretary of State, 1941. FS Catalog book 973.6 B4s v.6; film 1321236, item 4. This source includes an index. During the Revolutionary War, many residents would not sign an Oath of Allegiance to the rebel government. Their lands and property were confiscated, and by 1778 many fled to Canada. In 1783, after the war, many returned to Vermont, decided to sign the Oath of Allegiance, and petitioned to have their property returned. This 465-page source lists their names, claims, and value.

• 1688 to 1786 Vermont. Secretary of State. New York Land Patents 1688–1786: Covering Land Included in the State of Vermont, (Not Including Military Patents). State Papers of Vermont, v.7. Montpelier, Vermont: Secretary of State, 1947. FS Catalog book 974.3 B4s v.7. New York and New Hampshire both claimed disputed land now in Vermont. This volume shows names and dates and includes an index.

• 1778 to 1881 Vermont. Secretary of State. Petitions for Grants of Land 1778–1881. State Papers of Vermont, v.5. Montpelier, Vermont: Secretary of State, 1939. FS Catalog book 974.3 B4s v.5. This source includes an index. Each petition describes the property, location, and the reason for the petition.

Deeds

Before 1780 jurisdiction over land records was with the county. During the 1780s the town clerks were given jurisdiction over land records and have that jurisdiction today. You should consult records of the town clerks to find deeds.

Deed books in Vermont often included information about births, marriages, and deaths until about 1850.

Vermont, Land Records, Early to 1900 have digitized records for many towns. This is not a name index. You need to look at the town index first to find your ancestor's name with the volume and page number for his entry, then look in the appropriate digitized deed book. For additional information, see Vermont Land Records - FamilySearch Historical Records.

Deeds and other land records for most Vermont towns are on film and can be found in the FamilySearch Catalog by using a Place Search under:

VERMONT, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- LAND AND PROPERTY

VERMONT, [COUNTY]- LAND AND PROPERTY

VERMONT- LAND AND PROPERTY