Basically a quit rent is a tax of feudal origins that a freehold tenant paid to the manor that would free him or allow him to "quit" all other taxes on the land for a year. Black's Law Dictionary defines a quit rent as "A rent paid by the tenant of a freehold, by which he goes quit or free,--that is, discharged from any other rent." It is my understanding that the "quit rent" paid in colonial times went to the Governor of a colony, as the representative of the Crown, or the Crown's Designee, for the use of the land. The LVA has an excellent definition and overview: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/va20_coltax.htm#QUITRENTS John Metz ________________________________________ From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history. [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Janice [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 10:50 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] personal property taxes OK, I have a question. For years I have heard the term 'quit rent'. I am now gathering my courage to ask: what action was being stopped or terminated? Who was doing the quitting? Was the land considered as having been rented from the crown? How did the two terms interact to produce this condition? Thanks for any enlightenment. Janice A -----Original Message----- From: Gale Fuller <[log in to unmask]> To: VA-ROOTS <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Fri, Jul 13, 2012 5:08 pm Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] personal property taxes Praise Chamberlayne for St Peter's Parish Registry and Vestry for without it, we ould have NO RECORDS of this county save the Quit Rent roll. -----Original Message----- rom: Carole D. Bryant ent: Friday, July 13, 2012 3:11 PM o: [log in to unmask] ubject: Re: personal property taxes North Farnham (Old Rappahannock/Richmond County) parish records/register is n EXCELLENT example. ust wish all areas had such resources ! Carole n a message dated 7/13/2012 4:08:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: 1782. In the 1600s the parish registers are more helpful; the parishes ere basically the government. _______________________________ rom: Janice Friel <[log in to unmask]> o: [log in to unmask] ent: Friday, July 13, 2012 3:59 PM ubject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] personal property taxes How are back do the tax records go back? I'm looking for someone in late 600s. Jan n a message dated 7/13/2012 10:18:02 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: This is an excellent question! - In my own experience, I have found that one of the most important ules of genealogy is to "follow the money". All of our ancestors had to ccount to someone - tax collectors, property, wills, probate, etc. Census takers came around every ten years, and sometimes missed your ncestor. Tax collectors came around every year, and rarely missed anyone. If hey didn't collect the tax, they could be thrown in jail. A good xample f this is in "A Midwife's Tale - The Diary of Martha Ballard", by Laurel hatcher Ulrich. Martha was a midwife who lived in Maine during the atter art of the 18th century. Her husband was a tax collector. Part of her iary includes her visits to the jail to bring his dinner. According to the laws of the state/county, you can tell when a young an comes of age, when he begins to pay tax, when he acquires land and roperty, when he may be exempt (minister, caretaker of the road, or too ld), and when his widow is listed as a taxpayer, giving an estimated eath ear. h, I definitely believe in using tax records! n Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 1:11 PM, Carole D. Bryant [log in to unmask]>wrote: > I've heard it said that using personal property tax lists is NOT a good source for determining the neighbors of any particular tax-payer. The reason given was that personal property taxes weren't collected by going door to door, as a census-taker would have done, but were submitted by mail. Yet, many folks use the personal property tax lists as they would a ensus, assuming family relationships according to who else was listed on the ame page. So, which is correct? OR, did the method of vary for different years? f the latter is the case, which years can be used like a census? THANKS ! Carole D. Bryant To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the nstructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html - eggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG ttp://alwaysanxiouslyengaged.blogspot.com/* AND ttp://misspeggy55.weebly.com "We need to haunt the house of history and listen anew to the ncestors' isdom." ~ Maya Angelou * * Accredited Genealogist and AG are certification marks of the nternational ommission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). enealogists licensed to use the marks have met the competency standards f CAPGen*** To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions t ttp://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html o subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions t ttp://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions t ttp://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at ttp://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at ttp://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