The age of taxation varied --it was sometimes 16 and sometimes 21; there
were also periods when no poll (tithe) tax was applied. While the period
varied by county, many of the lists for the 1830s show only slaves and
horses (no tithes/polls). While I have not checked all the lists for any
county, I believe that all lists survive for some counties. No lists were
made in 1808 and 1864. For some counties for some years you will find both a
parish poll tax (column heading) and a county tithe (column heading).
Barbara Vines Little, CG
PO Box 1273
Orange, VA 22960
phone/fax 540-832-3473 (evenings)
CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of
Genealogists®, used under license by board-certified associates who meet
genealogical competency standards prescribed for those programs.
From: Peter Bergstrom <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2001 12:17 PM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] SHARECROPPER?
> The Personal Property tax was started by the Commonwealth in 1782. I
think
> it was collected until the early 1850s.
>
> It taxed:
>
> All white males 21 years and older
> All Black males and females -- slave or free (slaves paid for by
> their masters) -- age varied by year, but usually 16 and older.
> At various times it taxed horses, cattle, carriage wheels (i.e.
the
> rate depended on whether the vehicle was two wheeled or four wheeled)
> Some years pool tables, mirrors, and silver plate were taxed.
>
> These lists survive for most counties, but not in there entirety for any
> county. They are all found at LVA.
>
> If you can get the list for 1816, it's a real thriller since that year
> almost all major house hold goods were taxed. You can get a real idea of
> the various standards of living in an area from that list.
>
> I've never heard of a share cropper that early, but I do know that land
> owners sometimes paid the tax of their hired white workers as well as
their
> male children and slaves. I don't know of any sort of restrictions on
land
> ownership other than economic -- could you afford to buy it?
>
> I should also note -- as I always did when I was teaching -- that free
Black
> females were subject to a special burden under this tax since no white
women
> were subject to the tax.
>
> I hope that helps.
>
> Peter V. Bergstrom, PhD
> Manager, Information Systems, Lighthouse Institute
> Archivist, Illinois Addiction Studies Archive
> Chestnut Health Systems
> 720 W. Chestnut St.
> Bloomington, IL
>
> Webmaster http://www.chestnut.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diana Bennett [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, 19 June 2001 10:54 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: SHARECROPPER?
>
>
> Dear VA Hist:
>
> In 1792 in Berkeley County my ancestor is listed as paying Personal
> Property tax. He is listed as a S cropper, there are 2 whites and 4
> horses.
>
> 1. Is an S cropper a sharecropper? Can a sharecropper own land?
> 2. If he paid personal property tax, does that mean that he did NOT own
> land?
>
> Thanks for any help you can give me.
>
> Diana Kercheval Bennett
>
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