Ryegate, Vermont History


Caledonia	Vermont

Welcome to the Ryegate, Vermont web site. Please note that this site is designed primarily for use by genealogists and is not intended to be the official town site.

Links to external web sites are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or approval of any of the products, services or opinions contained in any external web site.

What's New?

12-5-2005 Links to Census Records were moved to Vital Statistics section. Old photograph search was added.
12-15-2005 Addition of links to Mexican War, War of Rebellion, Spanish-American War volunteers.
02-10-2006 Correction to Town Clerk's e-mail address.
03-08-2006 Addition of Gibson, Neilson, Symes Families Genealogies.
04-03-2006 Links to search Rootsweb databases have been removed. Homeland Security has made it a possible security violation to make this type of information available. Sorry, folks. It wasn't my idea.
06-18-2006 Location of old schools added.
06-25-2006 Manchester Cemetery information and photos added.
08-17-2006 Added additional links.
09-09-2006 Search site for Vermont Historical Gazetteer added.
11-17-2006 Genealogy report for Alexander Symes replaced.
12-07-2006 The Down of the Thistle Announcement.
03-03-2008 Old Photograph Search Site updated. Town office information updated.
12-16-2008 Links to Topozone maps changed to TopoQuest.
01-14-2009 Historical Society information updated.
07-16-2007 Maps relinked to TopoQuest for old schools.

Guestbook

Your comments and suggestions will be most welcome and will help me improve the site. Please restrict your postings to topics relative to genealogy.

Requests for information regarding wills should be directed to the Caledonia County Court Clerk whose address is found below. Requests for information regarding vital records, land records, etc should be directed to the Town Clerk's Office as listed below.

Ryegate Guest Book

Town Government

It should be noted that Town Clerks as a rule no longer will perform research but will assist researchers when they visit the town offices.

    Marsha Nelson, Clerk
    18 S. Bayley-Hazen Road                P. O. Box 332
    Ryegate, VT 05042                          Ryegate, VT 05042
    TEL: 802-584-3880                          FAX: 802-584-3880
    Email: Town of Ryegate
    Town Website: none
    HRS: M T W 1:00 - 5:00 PM; F 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
    Listers’: By appt                                 Zoning: By appt

Caledonia Probate Court

P.O. Box 406, 27 Main Street - St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 Phone: (802) 748-6605.

Ryegate Libraries

    Ryegate Corner Library, P. O. Box 332, Ryegate, VT 05042
    Marsha Nelson, Librarian    802-584-3880
    Hours: M-Sa 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM; M-F - 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

    South Ryegate Public Library, 2025 Gilfallan Road, South Ryegate, VT 05069
    Richard S. Fraser, Librarian     no phone
    Hours: Th - 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Ryegate History

   Early History
   Early Ryegate Family Histories
   Excerpt from Child's 1887 Gazetteer
   Mexican War
   Ryegate Civil War Volunteers
   Spanish-American War
   Ryegate Landowners in 1858
   1887-1888 Business Directory
Ryegate Historical Society
Whitelaw Hall, 54 Paper Mill Road, East Ryegate, VT
Mailing Address: PO Box 366, Ryegate, VT 05042
802-584-3520
Contact Person: Dwight White, Secretary/Treasurer, 802-584-3520, Ryegate Historical Society
Hours and Admission: By appointment.
Sequel to The Ryegate History

News Update Number 42 - December 2006

"The Down of the Thistle - 20th Century Ryegate, VT" by Dwight White

This News Update is to let you know that "The Down of the Thistle- 20th Century Ryegate VT" by Dwight White will be available at the Town Clerk's Office and the home of the author as of December 15, 2006. The book is a sequel to The Ryegate History by Miller and Wells which was published in 1913. It contains 18 chapters and over 200 pictures. Published by L. Brown & Sons of Barre, this hardcover edition is designed to be a companion volume to the 2002 reprint of the original.

"The Down of the Thistle" contains an introductory chapter which is a concise summary of the founding and growth of Ryegate during the first 125 years. Its purpose is to put the 20th century in context while acquainting or reacquainting the reader with Ryegate's rich heritage. This is followed by a chapter entitled "Three Villages and a Countryside". The remaining 16 chapters have to do with Town Affairs, Business, Education, Religion, Community Groups, Transportation, Communication, Disasters, War Times, Homee and Community Life, Celebrations, Sketches and Anecdotes worth preserving. The book is indexed for convenient reference.

This limited edition, subsidized by the Town of Ryegate, is available for $30.00 per copy plus $4.00 for mailing. The Town Office, P. O. Box 332, Ryegate, VT 05042 (802-584-3380) is open on Monday - Wednesday from 1:00 - 5:00 PM and on Friday AM from 9:00 - 1:00. It is closed on Thursdays.

Ryegate Vital Statistics

     1790 Census    1800 Census    1810 Census    1820 Census

Census reporting ends with the 1820 census. There were over 50 separate items of data gathered in the 1830 census. That fact and that names are not in alphabetical order make it impractical to report later years.

04-03-2006    Homeland Security has indicated that to prevent identity theft, vital record information younger than 70 years should not be accessible to the public. For this reason, I have removed the links to search vital record information.

Ryegate Schools

The names and locations of historic Ryegate schools was derived from old copies of topographical maps.

Ryegate, VT Schools of the Past

Ryegate Churches

Cemetery Information

Digging Deep Unearthing the Mysteries of Burial and Cemetery Laws

Caledonia County Cemeteries Courtesy of Paul DesTroismaisons
Following is a list of all cemeteries in Ryegate with directions as to how to reach each one. Photos of the cemeteries will be provided at a later date. Please click on the image to see a full size view.
TopoZone has been bought by Trails.Com and no longer has the level of free map viewing you deserve. The links to the TopoZone maps have been changed to TopoQuest to provide you with the capabilities you previously enjoyed.

Cemetery Listings

Blue Mountain Cemetery

Hillside Cemetery

Manchester Family Cemetery


Nameless Cemetery

Old Scotch American Cemetery
GPS coordinates are estimated.
Pinehurst Cemetery

West Cemetery

Other Ryegate Links
    Northeastern US Waterfalls -- A list of waterfalls in the Northeastern US among which some may be located in Ryegate.
    Some Old Photos of Ryegate -- Instructions will be shown on that site.
    Somers of Caledonia County, Vermont    The information contained in this link has been challenged. The challenger claims there were only
                                                                        four Somers branches, not five. He also claims that the information contained in Frederick Wells'
                                                                        History of Barnet, Vermont is inaccurate. John¹, b. 1740, is a duplicate of the information for
                                                                        Claud¹ and his children (pages 608-610). John³, b. 1823, belongs on page 611 as son of (5) John³.
    Vermont Historical Gazetteer - Courtesy: Rod Skinner    Local History for Vermont towns.
    HomePage for Upper Connecticut River Valley    Lots of other genealogical information.
    Other Listings of Interest, Courtesy - Janice Boyko
Bibliography

Ryegate Bibliography

You are visitor number since January 14, 2004.