This is a completely revised edition of the book first copied in 1978 and published in 1981. The first settlers arrived in Wells in 1768 and the cemetery was established in 1773. The earliest extant stone is dated 1776. As with most towns, many early graves were unmarked. Two pages of deaths records found in the two town histories, for those with no stones, have been added. Included are four small cemeteries in neighboring towns where Wells settlers were buried.
1993, 54 Pages, 8 Cemeteries, 2350 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
The settlement of Poultney was begun in 1771 by families from Massachusetts and Connecticut. In June 1775, eight acres were given by Nehemiah How and John Grant for a burial place in the East Village. The stones date from 1777 with many beautiful stones carved by Enos Clark of Middletown Springs. Numerous Revolutionary War veterans are buried in this cemetery. Before 1815 a cemetery was laid out in the West Village, now part of the large Town Cemetery. On January 9, 1862 fire destroyed most of the town's records. Therefore these cemetery records are extremely important.
1983, 115 Pages, 15 Cemeteries, 8200 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Settlement of the area began before the Revolutionary War. Due to the problems of traveling over the high mountains, the southwest corner of Ira along with sections of Poultney, Wells and Tinmouth were set off as Middletown in 1784, with that name changed to Middletown Springs in 1885. The first burial ground was on land of Increase Rudd. By 1876 all of the markers were gone and only a few depressions remained to mark the graves. The cemetery stones in the Old Cemetery date from 1790. The settlement of Ira was begun about 1770 by families from MA and CT. The cemetery stones date from 1784, but there were no doubt a few earlier burials.
1983, 62 Pages, 4 Cemeteries, 2800 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
The settlement of Danby was begun about 1765 by families from Nine Partners, NY. Many of the early settlers were Quakers. The first cemetery was on the farm of Micha Vail & given to the town in 1776. As the years passed seventeen small family cemeteries were set off in the town, one becoming the modern Scottsville Cemetery.
While Harwick, now Mt. Tabor, was chartered at the same time as Danby & Pawlet, settlement didn't begin until about 1782. Today the Green Mountain National Forest encompasses all but the western edge of the township. The earliest cemetery stone is dated 1803. Of the four known cemeteries in the town, three are far off the road in the National Forest. During the summer of 1993, all of the cemeteries not found at the time of the first edition of this book were visited plus one previously unknown cemetery. This revised edition corrects many errors found in the old listings used in the original edition.
1994, 91 Pages, 22 Cemeteries, 4450 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
The settlement of Pawlet was begun about 1768 by Simon Burton and William Fairfield. A few of the earliest settlers had been in the area during the French and Indian War. They were soon followed by families from CT and NY, including over seventy Revolutionary war soldiers. By 1791 there were 1458 inhabitants in 249 families.
The Old Cemetery was laid off from the farm of John Cobb with the earliest stone, now illegible, dated 1776. The second cemetery, now called Blossom, is on land given by Caleb Allen for the burial of Revolutionary War Soldiers. Mountain View Cemetery in West Pawlet was set off before 1801 on land given by Seeley Brown. Reprinted in 1996 with a few additions.
1985, 106 Pages, 7 Cemeteries, 5400 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Tinmouth was chartered in 1761 with the first town meeting in 1774. From 1781 to 1784, Tinmouth was the county seat. Many of the first settlers were from Salisbury, CT. Many Revolutionary War soldiers were among the early settlers. By 1791 there were 935 inhabitants.
Records show burials as early as 1786. The oldest stone is dated 1789 in the Cramton Cemetery. The Old #1 Cemetery in the north-west part of the township has only 2 stones remaining. The Lillie-Paul Cemetery in the the south-west corner of the town has stones dating from 1794. The Old Sawyer Cemetery in the village is has stones dating from 1801 with several beautiful stones.
1985, 33 Pages, 8 Cemeteries, 1070 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
The charter for Castleton was granted to Samuel Brown of Stockbridge, MA on Sept. 22, 1761. The original proprietors were principally from Salisbury, CT. Col. Amos Bird, Col. Noah Lee, and a black man spent the summers of 1767-1768 surveying the township and building a log cabin in the southwest part of town, returning to CT for the winter.
The settlement of Castleton began in May 1770 when Ephraim Buel, Ebenezer Bartholomew and Zadock Remington arrived with their families. They were the only settlers the first year. By 1791 there were 141 families in the town.
The first cemetery was laid out on the main street now located beside the Federated Church. The earliest dated stone is 1772 for Col. Bird who was first buried near his home and later moved to this cemetery. The early town records show a number of deaths with no surviving grave stones. The Hillside Cemetery was established in 1851 and is the only cemetery in use today. There are nine other family cemeteries in the town. All existing stones were copied.
1996, 92 Pages, 12 Cemeteries, 5880 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Fair Haven and West Haven were originally one township bounded by the Poultney River, Lake Champlain, Benson, Castleton and Poultney. On October 27, 1779 the State's General Assembly granted the act of incorporation for Fair Haven. A few families had settled in the town before 1779, by 1791 there were 100 families.
In 1792 the residents petitioned the General Assembly to set off the western two-thirds of the area as a separate town to be called West Haven. This was granted on October 20, 1792 with the dividing line as it now stands.
Fair Haven has an Old Cemetery on both sides of West Street, the modern Cedar Grove Cemetery, and the large St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. West Haven has the very old Carver's Falls Cemetery, Center Cemetery, Hackett Dam Cemetery, Hitchcock Cemetery and several tiny abandoned cemeteries that have been revised in 1994.
1994, 229 Pages, 15 Cemeteries, 9,850 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Pittsford was granted to Ephraim Doolittle and sixty-three others by Governor Wentworth on the 12th of October 1761. The name was derived from a ford on Otter Creek named in honor of William Pitt, then prime minister of England. The first ten years of town records were destroyed by fire so there is no record of when the town was organized, and the early town officers. Gideon Cooley of Greenwich, MA was one of the first settlers. He had passed through the area during the French & Indian War. Seven families arrived in Pittsford in 1770 and before the Revolution there were over thirty families in the town. There are five cemeteries in Pittsford. One cemetery in Brandon has been included.
Proctor, the Marble Town, was incorporated in 1886 from parts of Rutland and Pittsford and named for Redfield Proctor, founder of the Vermont Marble Company. The original village was called Sutherland Falls. Otter Creek runs through the area. Marble workers emigrated from Russia, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Italy and other countries to work in the quarries and carve the marble. There are three cemeteries in the town.
1992, 207 Pages, 9 Cemeteries, 10,500 Names, Illustrations, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Clarendon was granted by Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire on September 5, 1761 to Caleb Williams and others. About the same time Col. John Henry Lydius of Albany, New York granted much of the same land as a town called Durham. On April 3, 1771 Governor Dunmore of New York granted part of same the area as Socialborough. These three grants caused many problems for the early settlers.
The old military road from Charlestown, New Hampshire to Crown Point runs through the area and was traveled by soldiers who later came to settle. Many of the early settlers fought in the Revolutionary War. The fist settlers arrived from Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1768 and by 1791 there were 258 families in the town. There are thirteen cemeteries.
Shrewsbury was chartered on September 4, 1761 by Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, to Samuel Ashley and sixty-three others. The town was organized on March 20, 1781. Most of the town lies in the Green Mountain range. The first settler was Capt. Lemuel White who came from Rockingham, VT in 1777. By 1791 there were 73 families in the town. There are ten cemeteries.
1992, 141 Pages, 23 Cemeteries, 6800 Names, Illustrations, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Wallingford was chartered in 1761 by both New Hampshire and New York. The first proprietors meeting was held at Wallingford, CT on September 12, 1772 and the town was organized on March 10, 1778. The town was surveyed in 1770 by Remember Baker. The first settlers were George Scott and Ephraim Seeley. Town records show there were sixteen freemen by 1778 and by 1791 there were 96 families in the town. There are thirteen cemeteries.
Mount Holly, a gore of land between Ludlow and Wallingford, was granted by the General Assembly on 1780 to Abraham Jackson and others of Wallingford, VT as a means of raising funds for the Revolutionary War. The town of Mr. Holly was incorporated in October 1792. It was comprised of Jackson's Gore, the west edge of Ludlow, and the east side of Wallingford. The first settlement of the Gore was made in 1782 by Abraham Jackson, and the Clark brothers, soon to be followed by others. There are ten cemeteries.
1992, 164 Pages, 24 Cemeteries, 7500 Names, Illustrations, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Chittenden was chartered March 16, 1780 to Gershom Beach and sixty-five others, by the General Assembly of Vermont and named Chittenden for the first governor of Vermont. The eastern part of the town is very mountainous, with good farm lands in the western portion. The southern half of the town of Philadelphia was added in 1816. The town was organized on March 30, 1789. The first settlers were Nathaniel Ladd, John Bancroft, Gershom Beach, Jonathan Dike, Solomon Taylor, Nathaniel Nelson, Oliver Bogue, Zeb. Green, John Cowe, Jacob Walton and Asa Farrar. There are eight cemeteries in the town.
Mendon, formerly Medway, was chartered by Governor Thomas Chittenden and the Council and General Assembly on February 23, 1781 to Joseph Bowker and thirty-four others provided each proprietor cultivate five acres of land and build a house at least eighteen feet square within three years. On November 7, 1804 a tract of land owned by Jonathan Parker, called "Parker's Gore" was annexed to Medway and the name changed to Parkerstown. Much of the land is mountainous. In 1828 the name was changed to Mendon. The first settlers were Johnson Richardson and Jonathan Eggleston with their families. The 1791 Medway census lists only six families in town. There are seven cemeteries.
Pittsfield is a small gore town chartered on July 29, 1781 by Governor Thomas Chittenden, to Samuel Wilcox, Daniel Kinne, Josiah Wright and 130 others. The township is mountainous. The first proprietors meeting was held at Danby, VT in December 1781. Pittsfield was supposed to be equal to a township and a half, but it was soon discovered that there was not that much land as Stockbridge and Chittenden had overreached their bounds. What was left was equal to about half a town. The first settlers in 1786 were Daniel and Jacob Bow, George Martin and Thomas Hodgkins. By 1791 there were twelve families in the town. There are only two cemeteries.
Sherburne was chartered July 7, 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire to Ezra Stiles and Benjamin Ellery, of Newport, RI, under the name of Killington. The town was surveyed in 1774 by Simeon Stevens into 72 shares. The name was changed to Sherburne on November 4, 1800. The town is very mountainous with Mount Killington on the Mendon town line. The first attempt to settle the town was in 1774 when the proprietors offered Gideon Walker of Rutland and others, a gift of 100 acres each, if they would immediately settle thereon. The first known settler was Isaiah Washburn who came in 1785. John Anthony and Joseph Wood soon followed. There are eight cemeteries in the town.
1992, 106 Pages, 25 Cemeteries, 4500 Names, Illustrations, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Benson was chartered October 27, 1779, but not signed until May 5, 1780, by "the Governor, Council & General Assembly of the Representatives of the Freeman of Vermont," & named for the Hon. Egbert Benson of Albany, New York. Most of the first settlers had served in the Revolutionary War, many from Berkshire Co., MA, a few from CT. Walter Durfee, Daniel Barber, Jonathan Meacham, James Noble, Abijah Holabird, Henry S. Waston were some of the first settlers. The Old Cemetery was surveyed & laid out on October 5, 1790. Previous to this time there had been some burials in other parts of town. No monuments were ever placed to mark these burials & no traces of these graves remained in the 1880s. Stones in the Temple cemetery date from 1795 & in Carter Street Cemetery from 1813. Most of the stones in Fairview Cemetery date from the 1890s, however there are a few before that date. About 1920 all the stones with dates through 1870 in the Old, Temple & Carter Cemeteries, were copied & recorded. Many of these stones are now illegible, face down or missing. The data from this book has been added where I could not read the stone.
Hubbardton was chartered on June 15, 1764 by Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire to Thomas Hubbard & others; & named for Mr. Hubbard. Settlement began in the spring of 1774 in the south-east part of town by Uriah Hickok & William Trowbridge. They were soon followed by Samuel & Jesse Churchill, William Spaulding, Abdial Webster, Benjamin Hickok, Benajah Boardman, & John Seleck. By the summer of 1784 there were 20 families. The north-west part of the town is known as Hortonville, named for Gideon Horton. There is no mention as to when the cemeteries were laid out. The oldest stones are in the East, North & Hortonville Cemeteries.
Hubbardton is best remembered because of the decisive battle fought there on July 7, 1777. Gen. Burgoyne's British troops were brought to a standstill by the American forces under Col. Seth Warner, the Green Mountain Boys, Col. Ebenezer Francis' MA Militia; Col. Nathan Hale's 2nd NH Continental Regiment & Maj. Gen. Arthur St.Clair's rear guard. The nine families then in town fled. The Battle of Hubbardton resulted in about 580 casualties. When the settlers returned, they found the bones of those who fell, still lying upon the field of battle, bleaching in the sun. They were all buried in one grave, unmarked until the monument was erected in 1859.
Sudbury was chartered on August 6, 1761 by Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire & contains 13,426 acres. Settlement began in 1771 when Timothy Miller arrived. He was soon followed by Thomas Ketcham, John Gage & a Parks. They all left at the beginning of the war & the town was deserted for several years. The first town meeting was held on January 15, 1789 with John Hall as moderator. Some of the early settlers were: Shaler Towner, John Gage, Zebina Sanders, John Ricke, Joseph Warner, John Hale, Jeremiah Stone, William Buck, William Palmer, Timothy Miller, & Roger Burr.
1993, 117 Pages, 22 Cemeteries, 5,300 Names, Maps, Illustrations, Indexed, Price List
Neshobe, as Brandon was known as for the first twenty-three years, was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on October 20, 1761 and contains 22,756 acres. The first proprietors meeting was held in Williamstown, MA June 16, 1774. In October 1784 when the Legislature confirmed the organization of the town the name was changed to Brandon. The name Neshobe was chosen by Capt. Josiah Powers, the first name on the charter.
Settlement of this frontier town was very slow until after the Revolution. Amos Cutler, came in October 1772, cleared some land near the Pittsford line, built a cabin, and was the only white man in town that winter. In April 1773, John Ambler and David June came and made their pitch adjoining Amos Cutler. George and Aaron Robins were attacked and killed by Indians headed for the Fort at Pittsford in November 1777. Realizing the Yankee courage, the Indians retreated. Capt. Tuttle and Joseph Barker, settled near the Sudbury line. In 1779 the Indians burned their homes and took Joseph prisoner.
By 1791 Brandon had 117 families and 637 settlers. This number doubled by 1810. The town has prospered because of ample water power and deposits of marble, iron ore, yellow ochre and feldspar. US Senator Stephen A. Douglas, known for his 1858 debates with Abraham Lincoln, was born and educated in Brandon. The listings include all extant stones. Some missing data has been added from previous listings.
1994, 196 Pages, 9 Cemeteries, 10,500 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
Rutland was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on September 7, 1761 to Col. Josiah Willard of Winchester, NH & others, mostly from New Hampshire. A second grant the same year was made by Col. John Henry Lydius, then of Albany, NY, for the town of "Fairfield". A third charter was given on April 3, 1771 for the town of "Socialborough," in Charlotte Co., NY that included part of the present Rutland, Pittsford & Brandon. It was many years before all the NY claims were settled. At that time the town included what is now the Town & City of Rutland, West Rutland, & part of Proctor. In October 1787 the town was divided into two parishes & in 1886 West Rutland & Proctor were set off as separate towns.
The Congregational Church was organized Oct. 20, 1773. The old burial ground on Pleasant Street was given to the church by deed in 1787 by William Roberts. The Whipple Hollow Cemetery in the north part of town is in very poor condition. The oldest extant stone is dated 1789.
Marble was quarried before 1800. By the late 1830s Irish workers arrived to build the railroad & work the quarries. At first the Catholics were buried in the Pleasant Street Cemetery, but after the construction of St. Bridget's Church, land was purchased in 1867 for a cemetery. Many stones are dated before 1867.
The French Canadians had their own church, "The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" built in 1870 that stood on what is the north-west corner of the cemetery. Their burials were in the west section of the cemetery near the church. The Polish began to arrive in the 1890s. Some early Slavic stones are in the Irish & French sections of the cemetery. After the Polish Church was erected they obtained land south of St. Bridget's & Sacred Heart cemeteries.
1994, 121 Pages, 6 Cemeteries, 5800 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
The charter for Rutland was granted on September 7, 1761, by Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire, to Col. Josiah Willard of Winchester, NH. The same area was granted in 1761 by Col. John Henry Lydius, of Albany, under the name of Fairfield and by Governor Dunmore of New York for Socialborough. It was a number of years before all the claims were settled in favor of the NH grant. The old military road, from Charlestown, NH to Crown Point, crossed Otter Creek at Center Rutland. On September 30, 1769, Capt. James Mead bought 7,000 acres of land, or about 1/4 of Rutland and sold half to Charles Button of Clarendon. In the spring of 1770 he brought his family to Rutland. Simeon Powers, William Dwinell, and Asa Johnson came in the summer of 1770 with their wives. With the Meads they were the only white settlers that fall. By 1774 there were 35 families in Rutland and by 1791 there were 243 families. The building of the railroad in Rutland in the 1840s and the start of the marble industry brought Irish workers, soon followed by French Canadians, experienced Italian marble cutters, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Greek and many others.
There have been at least fourteen cemeteries in the original Rutland. The first, on West Street in Center Rutland ,set aside before 1773. After the town was split into two parishes, new burial grounds were opened on Pleasant and North Main Streets. These were filled up and a new West Street cemetery was purchased. In 1854 the Rutland Cemetery Association was formed. In 1860 forty-five acres of land was bought on Pine Hill for the Evergreen Cemetery. The small Cheney Hill Cemetery and the old Whipple Hollow Cemetery are in the north part of Rutland. There are three Catholic cemeteries. The Rutland Jewish Cemetery is in Clarendon.
1995, 395 Pages, 12 Cemeteries, 33,500 Names, Maps, Indexed, Price List
RUTLAND
COUNTY VERMONT PROBATE EXTRACTS, RUTLAND DISTRICT
PART 1,
VOLUMES 1 - 8, 1781 - 1814
Margaret
R. Jenks, Danielle L. Roberts, Dawn D. Hance
In
compiling this book, we have abstracted every item and entry, page by page, in
Volumes 1-8 of the Rutland County probate records, covering the time period
from the establishment of the Probate Court in Rutland County, to early in the
year 1814, the end of Volume 8. All items of
Genealogical
interest have been included: wills, inventories, administrator's accounts, receipts,
petitions, guardianship, and other data pertaining to the probate of an estate.
The records in these books were recorded by the court registrar.
Dawn
Hance, Rutland Historian, has checked the books at the court house in cases
where the films are illegible, or pages were not filmed, and some of the
packets. She has also listed the packets by number. Her extensive knowledge of
the area has added much detail to these records. Her extractions of the Rutland
Herald and other early Rutland area newspapers have added more data.
We
expect to continue this series to about 1850 when full names appear in the
census records. Probate records for the Fair Haven District are also being
compiled. Unfortunately two fires have plagued the Fair Haven District. When
the district was set off from Rutland, William Ward of Poultney was the first
Probate Judge. About 1797 his home burned along with the first two volumes of
probate records. A second fire on 2 January 1862 burned all of the Poultney
vital records, deeds, and town records, along with Volume 7, December 1807 -
February 1811; Volume 9, January – December 1813; and Volumes 12-18, July 1824
- April 1842, of the probate records.
It will
be noted that many of the estates mentioned in these early volumes are for
residents of Addison, Chittenden and Orleans Counties, Vermont. Also, numerous
estates were probated in Rutland County for residents of other states who held
some property in Rutland County. And some records show property held in former
homes.
142 +
VI Pages, 4400 Names, Every Name Indexed, $25.00 Postpaid
New
York Residents add sales tax
Make
checks to Margaret R. Jenks & mail to: 24 Mettowee Street,
Granville,
NY
12832