Vermont Vital Records

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Vital Records Reference Dates

Vermont's vital records start the following years:

  Birth, Marriage, and Death Records
Towns: abt. 1760
Statewide: 1857 Law for town clerks
Centralized Registration: 1919


Vermont Birth, Marriage, and Death Records Online

Birth Records

Marriage Records

Death Records

Divorce

Vermont Vital Records

Vital records were first kept in Vermont from the earliest permanent settlement, about 1760. All original records are maintained by the town or city and can be viewed at the town or city clerk’s office. The present vital registration law was enacted in 1857. This statute required that all vital events be recorded in the town where they occurred. A centralized registration system was established in 1919.

The central registration of birth, marriage, death, and divorce records have been divided into the responsibilities of two state agencies. For vital records from 1760 to 5 years ago, contact:

  • Vermont State Archives & Records Administration
    Office of the Secretary of State
    1078 Route 2, Middlesex
    Montpelier, Vt. 05633-7701
    Phone: (802) 828-3700
    Internet: Vermont State Archives

    For Vital Records for the 5 most recent years, contact:

Department of Health and Vital Statistics
108 Cherry St., P.O. Box 70
Burlington, VT 05402
Telephone: 802-863-7275
Internet: Vermont Health Department

Birth Records

Birth records usually show the name and sex of the child, and the names of parents, with the mother’s maiden name. The birth records may also show the birth places and ages of the parents, mother’s maiden name, occupation of the father, and number of children born to the mother. A year by year search may reveal other children born to the couple. Birth records of adopted children may give the birth parents but have frequently been amended to show only the adoptive parents.

Marriage Records

Marriage records usually mention the names of the bride and groom, the date and place of the marriage, and the home town of both the bride and groom. They also may show the names of the parents of each of them.

Gretna Greens. When an eloping Vermont couple's marriage is not in their home county, search for it in alternate places like Niagara Falls, NY, Elkton, Cecil, Maryland, or Prince William County, Virginia.[1]Niagara Falls was the closest, so probably most eloping couples would go there.

Death Records

Death records usually give information about the deceased, such as name, age, birth date, state or country of birth. They also may include the names of parents, the date and place of death, as well as the cause of death. The informant may be a close relative and the names of the physician and mortician may be provided.

Cause of Death

  • Causes of Death - use this resource when trying to interpret a disease or medical condition listed on a death record or certificate

Divorce Records

Divorce Certificates are available through the Department of Health for the last 5 years. By clicking the Department of Health link this will take you to the form to fill out. For certificates prior to the last five years you would need to contact Vermont State Archives and Records.

Since vital records were kept from the founding of a town, search the town records also for the original information. See the Vermont Town Records page for details.

Vital Records Indexes

  • Vermont. Secretary of State. General Index to Vital Records of Vermont, Early to 1870. [2]This index includes births, deaths, marriages, and most gravestones. They are arranged alphabetically within the year. Some cards are filmed out of sequence.
  • Vermont. Secretary of State. General Index to Vital Records of Vermont, 1871–1908. [3]This index includes births, deaths, and marriages. They are arranged alphabetically by surname. Some cards are filmed out of sequence. Re-filmed cards are on the end of some rolls.
  • Vermont. Secretary of State. State Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1909–1942. [4] They are arranged alphabetically by surname.
  • Vermont. Secretary of State. State Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1942–1954. [5]They are arranged alphabetically by surname.

Additional helps

Substitute Records

Vermont Church Records

Vermont Cemetery Records

Vermont Census

Vermont Newspapers

Vermont Obituaries

Vermont Periodicals

Vermont Military Records

Tips

  • Information listed on vital records is given by an informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
  • If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial.  A family BIble may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
  • Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records.  Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
  • Search for Vital Records in the FamilySearch Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records.  Search for Vermont to locate records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

References

  1. Arlene H. Eakle, "Have you searched and searched for a marriage without finding it?" in Genealogy Blog at http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2007/02/19/have-you-searched-and-searched-for-the-marriage-without-finding-it/[accessed February 22, 2012]
  2. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1951. (On 287 FS Library films beginning with FS Library 27455.)
  3. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967, 1994–95. (On 122 FS Library films beginning with FS Library 540051.)
  4. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1994–97. (On 278 FS Library films beginning with FS Library 1953261.)
  5. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1994–96. (On 133 FS Library films beginning with FS Library 1953789.)