Vermont Obituaries

Vermont’s small-town weeklies are the main record of deaths in the state for most of its history. The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project has put many of them online for free, and the Department of Libraries lists every free option.

Recent Vermont obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest daily papers in Vermont are:

• Burlington Free Press
• Rutland Herald
• Times Argus (Barre-Montpelier)
• Brattleboro Reformer
• Valley News (Lebanon, N.H.)

Legacy.com’s Vermont page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

Vermont obituaries in historic newspapers

The Vermont Gazette, first printed in Westminster in 1781 while Vermont was still an independent republic, was the state’s first newspaper. By the mid-1800s nearly every county had at least one weekly, and their obituaries are often longer and more personal than city papers, describing the deceased’s farm, church and family.

Vermont’s population was small and mobile, and many Vermonters moved west to New York, Ohio and the Midwest. Home-town papers often reported the deaths of former residents who had moved away, so a Vermont weekly can be the place to find an obituary for someone who died elsewhere.

The Vermont Newspaper Project catalogued and microfilmed close to 1,000 Vermont titles between 1997 and 2001, and its digital successor, led by the University of Vermont, contributes pages to Chronicling America. The Department of Libraries also provides Vermont residents with free access to Vermont papers on Newspapers.com.

Where to find older Vermont obituaries

Digitized Vermont newspapers

• Free Online Newspapers for Research, Vermont Department of Libraries — Free access to digitized Vermont newspapers, including Newspapers.com for Vermont residents.
• Vermont newspapers on Chronicling America — Free Vermont titles digitized by the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project.

Archives and libraries

• Vermont State Archives and Records Administration — Vermont vital records and guidance on finding death records.
• Vermont Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Vermont newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

Vermont death records

Vermont death certificates are public: anyone can order a copy from the town clerk or the Department of Health. The Vermont State Archives (VSARA) holds older vital records.

• Vermont Department of Health, Vital Records — the office that issues Vermont death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: Vermont — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• Vermont Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Vermont

• Vermont records are open. Anyone can order a Vermont death certificate.
• Use your library's Newspapers.com. Vermont residents can use it free through the Department of Libraries.
• Check New Hampshire and New York papers. Border towns often appear in Valley News or Plattsburgh papers.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions