The Brooks Memorial Library Local History/Genealogy room contains approximately 5000 book volumes and clipping files on the history of Brattleboro and neighboring towns. Genealogy materials include family histories, town directories, cemetery records, military rosters, and more.

The room is located on the mezzanine and is available to all researchers during regular library hours: Mon-Weds 10:00 am – 9:00 pm, Thurs,1:00 – 6:00 pm; Fri 10:00am – 6:00 pm, and Sat 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.

The materials in the Local History/Genealogy room are separate from the collections of the Brattleboro Historical Society, whose offices are next door to the Library in the Brattleboro Municipal Center. Many researchers consult both collections for a comprehensive search.

A local area genealogy interest group meets every third Wednesday at 10:00 in the LH/Gen room. For more information, please email Sara Morse: morse_sara@comcast.net.

In addition to the LH/Gen room, there are materials in the circulating and reference collections of interest to local historians and genealogical researchers.

All of the Library’s Local History/Genealogy materials, including clipping files, are listed in the Library’s online catalog. To access the actual contents of the books and files, researchers should visit the Library or request an information search.

Researchers outside the Brattleboro area may request an information search by filling out the Ancestor Ask request form. Rates for research services are $10.00 per hour and $.25 per printed page.

A reference librarian can help locate relevant materials through the Ancestor Ask form, in person, or by phone: (802) 254-5290 x109. Local History volunteers are also available to assist with research; they staff the LH/Genealogy room on Tuesday afternoons.

• Annals of Brattleboro, by Mary Cabot (1921)
• Before our time : a pictorial memoir of Brattleboro, Vermont, from 1830 to 1930, by Harold A. Barry et. al. (1974)
• Picturesque Brattleboro, by Frank T. Pomeroy (1894)
• Brattleboro remembers, compiled by Brattleboro Historical Society (2001)
• With Interest historical magazine of Brattleboro, 1922-[1928]
• Old Brattleboro Houses scrapbook
• Brattleboro town reports, 1911—current
• Brattleboro Town Directories, 1871-72—current
• Gazetteer and business directory of Windham County, Vt. : 1724-1884, by Hamilton Child (1884) & Index by Charles D. Townsend (1987)
• Vermont Historical Gazetteer, by Abby Hemenway (1867-1891)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Vermont (Library card required.)
• Heritage Quest Online for U.S. Census, Revolutionary War records, Freedman’s Bank & local histories of U.S. cities & towns (Library card required.)
• Massachusetts town histories, war rosters, and vital record books to 1850
• Porter Thayer Photographs at the Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont

• American Genealogical Index vols. 1-48
• New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1848—current (indexed through vol. 148)
• Mayflower families through five generations: descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 ,vols 1-21; 23
• The Mayflower Descendant, vols 1-26, 35-48
• DAR Lineage books (not in catalog)
• Passenger and immigration lists index: a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers by P. William Filby, 1981-1992
• Boston Transcript queries in notebooks (indexed 1902-1913 and 1930-1940; others not indexed)
• Hartford Times queries in notebooks (not indexed)
• Branches & Twigs / Vermont Genealogy, 1972—current (missing Vol. 9)
• Many family genealogies, some in manuscript form

• Old Bibles; most printed in Brattleboro in the early 1800s
• Books printed in Brattleboro and in Vermont
• Civil War record…of Co. K. 9th Vt. Vols., by Nelson L. Wandell. Manuscript diary.
• Photo Collections by Porter Thayer, Benjamin Crown, and other early Brattleboro-area photographers. Images are viewable on microfilm; originals are in storage and may be viewed by appointment.

Those seeking obituaries from the Brattleboro Reformer or Vermont Phoenix will increase their chances for success if they obtain exact death dates for their subjects. Brattleboro’s vital records are maintained by the Town Clerk, whose offices are next door to the Library in the Brattleboro Municipal Building. The records are open to the public.

The Library’s LH/Genealogy staff can also search for Brattleboro death records and make copies of obituaries at the rates noted above; however, certified copies of death records can only be obtained directly from the Town Clerk.