Vermont Research Tips and Strategies

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Purpose of Research Tips and Strategies Wiki Page

The Vermont Research Tips and Strategies page consists of links to specific research strategies for Vermont. It also contains general tips and other resources for finding your ancestors in this locality.

Vermont Research Strategies[edit | edit source]

Below are links to different research strategy pages to help you locate your ancestors in Vermont:

Finding Vermont Birth, Marriage or Death Records[edit | edit source]

Finding Vermont Records[edit | edit source]

Vermont Statewide Databases[edit | edit source]

Vermont Research Process[edit | edit source]

Vermont Research Tips[edit | edit source]

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Vermont:

Birth and Death information:

  • Statewide registration: 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. General compliance year is unknown.[1]

  • Town Records: Vital records were first kept in Vermont from the earliest permanent settlement, about 1760 by the town or city clerk.[2]
  • Access to records: See Vermont Vital Records for more information about birth, marriages, and deaths in Vermont.


Substitute Records:

  • Secondary source: Substitute records are used when primary sources do not exist for an event, such as birth, marriage, and deaths. Secondary sources list information about the event but they were not recorded at the time of the event and they are not an official record of the event.
  • Accuracy: Because the information about an event in substitute records was not the official recording of the event (such as, cemetery or obituary records) inaccuracy may occur. Use other substitute records to help verify information.
  • List of substitute records: See Vermont Substitute Records for more information.


Finding Parents:

  • Death records: Early death records may have information about parents, but most do not. However in 1919, the state required birth and parent information for the deceased. Information was not always provided and the accuracy of the information was limited by the grieving relatives' memory.
  • Obituaries: Official obituaries can also include the names of parents and other family members. See Vermont Newspapers and Vermont Obituaries for more information.
  • Church records: Knowing the denomination of the church the family belonged to helps in locating information about the parents. See Vermont Church Records for more information.


Census Records:

  • Check all census years: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census to learn more about them and their family members. See Vermont Census Records for more information.
  • Clues to other records: There are clues in censuses regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records.
  • Finding families: Starting in 1850, all members of the household were listed in the census. By 1880, relationship to the head of household was added.

Further Vermont Research[edit | edit source]


References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Vermont Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1988, 1999, 31. (Accessed 20 Feb 2025). Online at: BYU University - Provo
  2. ↑ Vermont Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1988, 1999, 31. (Accessed 20 Feb 2025). Online at: BYU University - Provo
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