Carole, Perhaps he may have simply been a "live-in" employee. I think the owner would pay the taxes for him the same as if he was a member of the family. That seems to track with what Tim sent. The best I can recommend is to look at the personal property tax records going back from 1817 on a year-by-year basis. You may be able to see when he first paid taxes. That would b a clue to tell you when he turned 21. Jim -----Original Message----- From: Carole D. Bryant Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2011 9:28 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] age to pay taxes in 1817? Jim, I have no idea yet if he was serving as an apprentice. It was a farming community, and in all the censuses, he was always a farmer, so he may have been working on the farm of his guardian. Though I have yet to check guardianship records in the courthouse, I did find (in his papers) an (begun in 1819 and paid in full 1821) account in the name of his guardian. My problem is that I am not sure of his birth year. Judging by censuses, he was born 1799-1800. But then, looking at this 1817 tax receipt -- in his name -- I began to wonder if he was older than I thought .... hence, the question. Thanks ! Carole In a message dated 6/7/2011 8:47:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: You're welcome, Carole. I'll yield to Tim Spradling. My knowledge is primarily a practical one; i.e., what worked for me. I did quite a bit of research to back it up but clearly not to the extent Tim did. I do believe that the person that you mention would not have to pay until age 21. Do you think he was serving as an apprentice to his guardian? I believe the guardian would pay the tax until he was 21. If you could find the tax year he turned 21, it might give a clue as to who his guardian was if that is of interest. The guardian could be a relative. This especially can work when there is an ambiguity in the county with more than one person of the same name. In my case, in King William County, at age 21, my ancestor was listed as William Terry (son of Gideon) to distinguish him from the two other William Terrys in the county. That kept up for several years. This helped the Sheriff know which one paid his taxes. (The same thing happened in Brunswick County on another of my lines.) Possibly you might find your person designated in some similar way. Good luck, Jim -----Original Message----- From: Carole D. Bryant Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 12:08 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] age to pay taxes in 1817? Thank you, Jim ! In the case I'm looking at, there is no father and the person I'm looking at has a "guardian." (I am not sure if he is living by himself or if he is in the home of a relative.) Does this mean that he, himself, will begin to pay at age 16? Carole In a message dated 6/6/2011 1:03:09 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: My understanding is that taxes were paid at age 21. There were exceptions for Constables and other categories that didn't pay taxes. One clue to the age and to find the father that I always use is that the father paid taxes for white tithables as of age 16. In a couple of counties, I checked each year's personal property tax lists for the years' prior to when a person first paid taxes to find their father. It worked for me in Brunswick and King William Counties during the time frame from 1782 to about 1830 (I didn't need to go more recently). Some years have other tax records that are also helpful. The records for many counties are available from the LDS microfilm collection, including these two. Jim Terry -----Original Message----- From: Carole D. Bryant Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 10:44 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] age to pay taxes in 1817? A receipt for taxes paid was found in a collection of "old papers" kept all these years by the family. Actually, I do not know the man's age with any certainty, but am trying to nail it down. Seems like this might be a clue, IF I knew how old he would HAVE TO BE to be charged for levies. Carole In a message dated 6/6/2011 11:39:26 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: How did you find out the amount of taxes they paid and do you think the age ? would be for the 1700s? Thanks, Margie -----Original Message----- From: Carole D. Bryant Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2011 3:22 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [VA-ROOTS] age to pay taxes in 1817? This question can be combined with my earlier question. If a young man paid Virginia Personal Property taxes in 1817 (county levies $.35; parish levies $.44), it would mean he was over what age? Thank you very much. Carole To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html