Bennington County, Vermont Genealogy
Guide to Bennington County, Vermont ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Bennington County, Vermont | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Vermont, United States Genealogy | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 11, 1779 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Bennington |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Bennington County Courthouse 207 South Street, Bennington, VT 05201-2247 Phone: 802.447.2700 Website: Bennington County Vermont |
Contents
- 1 Description
- 2 Bennington County, Vermont Record Dates
- 3 County Courthouse
- 4 Quick Facts
- 5 Places / Localities
- 6 Resources
- 7 Societies, Libraries and Museums
- 8 Websites
- 9 References
Description[edit | edit source]
The County is located in the southwest area of the state. [1]
Bennington County, Vermont Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| at town creation | at town creation | at town creation | 1861 | 1782 | 1778 | 1790 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Town Clerks have birth, marriage, death and burial records; County Clerk has divorce records from 1899 and court records from 1861; Probate Judge has probate records.
Towns Organized before 1800:
Arlington 1761
Bennington 1749
Dorset 1761
Glastenbury 1761
Landgrove 1780
Manchester 1761
Peru 1761
Pownal 1760
Rupert 1761
Sandgate 1761
Shaftsbury 1761
Sunderland 1761
Winhall 1761 [3]
Quick Facts[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
Created 11 February 1779 from Colonial lands.[3]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
- Windham County was set off 22 February 1781.
For animated maps illustrating Vermont County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Vermont County Boundary Maps" (1764-1895) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]
| Towns | ||
| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
Extinct Town: Glastenbury (incorportation ended 1937)[5]
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Rutland | Windsor | Windham | Berkshire, Massachusetts | Franklin, Massachusetts | Rensselaer, New York | Washington, New York
Resources[edit | edit source]
Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
| Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
| Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
| VTGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
| VTGenWeb Archives | FamilySearch Places | |
| VTTombstone Project | ||
| VTInterment | ||
| VTGravestones | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Vermont Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- List of Bennington County Cemeteries
- List of Pownal Cemeteries: Includes some transcriptions
- Random Acts VT Cemetery Records Research Guide
Census[edit | edit source]
Federal[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1790 | 12,206 | — |
| 1800 | 14,617 | 19.8% |
| 1810 | 15,893 | 8.7% |
| 1820 | 16,125 | 1.5% |
| 1830 | 17,468 | 8.3% |
| 1840 | 16,872 | −3.4% |
| 1850 | 18,589 | 10.2% |
| 1860 | 19,436 | 4.6% |
| 1870 | 21,325 | 9.7% |
| 1880 | 21,950 | 2.9% |
| 1890 | 20,448 | −6.8% |
| 1900 | 21,705 | 6.1% |
| 1910 | 21,378 | −1.5% |
| 1920 | 21,577 | 0.9% |
| 1930 | 21,655 | 0.4% |
| 1940 | 22,286 | 2.9% |
| 1950 | 24,115 | 8.2% |
| 1960 | 25,088 | 4.0% |
| 1970 | 29,282 | 16.7% |
| 1980 | 33,345 | 13.9% |
| 1990 | 35,845 | 7.5% |
| 2000 | 36,994 | 3.2% |
| 2010 | 37,125 | 0.4% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
1790 US Census, Bennington County, Pownal Town Transcription
State[edit | edit source]
1785
Church Records[edit | edit source]
The Churches of Pownal, Pownal Historical Society, Inc.
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
History[edit | edit source]
History of Bennington County, Lewis Cass Aldrich, Syracuse, NY, D. Mason & Co., Publishers, 1889.
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Courtesy of The Pownal Historical Society, Inc.:
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
- Pownal Maps
Military Records[edit | edit source]
Courtesy of Pownal Historical Society, Inc.:
- Green Mountain Boys from Pownal | About the Green Mountain Boys
- American Revolution: Soldiers buried in Vermont
- Civil War: Vermont Volunteers
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- 1861 - 1867 Vermont, Enrolled Militia Records, 1861-1867 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
Regiments and Companies:
- - 2nd Regiment, Vermont Infantry
- - 4th Regiment, Vermont Infantry, Company A
- - 5th Regiment, Vermont Infantry, Company E
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has North Adams, MA newspapers (1895-1977) covering local news that included Windham County residents.
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Online Probate Records
- 1749 - 1999 Vermont Wills and Probate Records 1749-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1800 - 1921 Vermont Probate Files 1800-1921 at FamilySearch — images — How to Use this Collection
There are two Bennington County Probate Districts
- Bennington District - Bennington, Glastenbury, Pownal, Readsboro, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford and Woodford.
- Manchester District - Arlington, Dorset, Landgrove, Manchester, Peru, Rupert, Sandgate, Sunderland and Winhall.
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Vermont, Bennington County Manchester District, Probates - FamilySearch Historical Records
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Town Records[edit | edit source]
- 1850-2005 - Vermont, Town Records, 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
- 1732 - 2005 Vermont, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
- 1850 - 2005 Vermont, Town Records, 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection
Courtesy of the Pownal Historial Society, Inc.
See also How to order Vermont Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application at Vermont Department of Health
Societies, Libraries and Museums[edit | edit source]
See also a List of Vermont Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical and Genealogical Societies
Historical Societies[edit | edit source]
Bennington Historical Society And Museum
75 West Main Street
Bennington, VT 05201
Phone: 802-447-1571
Website
Dorset Historical Society
PO Box 52
Main St & Rte 30
Dorset, VT 05251
Phone: 802-867-0331
Website
Landgrove Historical Society
PO Box 734
Landgrove, VT 05148
Phone: 802-824-6624
Manchester Historical Society
PO Box 363
Manchester, VT 05254
Phone: 802-362-3708
Website
North Bennington Museum and Historical Society
PO Box 536
North Bennington, VT 05257
Phone: 802-442-9193
Website
Historical Society of Peru
PO Box 73
Peru, VT 05152
Phone: 802-824-5945
Pownal Historical Society
PO Box 313
Pownal, VT 05261
Phone: 802-823-5536
Website
Readsboro Historical Society
PO Box 125
152 Glen Avenue
Readsboro, VT 05350
Phone: 802-423-5432
Facebook
Rupert Historical Society
PO Box 84
Rupert, VT 05768
Phone: 802-394-7864 or 802-394-7738
Russell Vermontiana Collection
Martha Canfield Library
PO Box 267
528 East Arlington Road
Arlington, VT 05250
Phone: 802-375-6153
Shaftsbury Historical Society
PO Box 401
3871 Vermont 7A
Shaftsbury, VT 05262
Phone: 802-375-6376
Stamford Historical Society
c/o Town Clerk
986 Main Road
Stamford, VT 05352
Phone: 802-694-1361
Winhall Museum
PO Box 607
Bondville, VT 05340
Phone: 802-297-2459
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History 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 family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Bennington County, VT History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Vermont Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- The Bennington County VTGenWeb Project, an member of The VTGenWeb Project
- The USGenWeb Archives Project
- The USGenWeb Archives Project (backup site)
- FamilySearch Catalog
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bennington, Vermont" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennington_County,_Vermont accessed 5 Dec 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bennington County, Vermont . Page 698-699 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 686-687.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 698. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bennington_ County,_Vermont," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennington_County,_Vermont accessed 24 October 2019.
- ↑ Michael J. Leclerc, Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research, 5th ed. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012), 394. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974 D27g 2012.
