1782. In the 1600s the parish registers are more helpful; the parishes were basically the government. ________________________________ From: Janice Friel <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 3:59 PM Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] personal property taxes How are back do the tax records go back? I'm looking for someone in late 1600s. Jan In 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 rules of genealogy is to "follow the money". All of our ancestors had to account to someone - tax collectors, property, wills, probate, etc. - Census takers came around every ten years, and sometimes missed your ancestor. - Tax collectors came around every year, and rarely missed anyone. If they didn't collect the tax, they could be thrown in jail. A good example of this is in "A Midwife's Tale - The Diary of Martha Ballard", by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Martha was a midwife who lived in Maine during the latter part of the 18th century. Her husband was a tax collector. Part of her diary includes her visits to the jail to bring his dinner. - According to the laws of the state/county, you can tell when a young man comes of age, when he begins to pay tax, when he acquires land and property, when he may be exempt (minister, caretaker of the road, or too old), and when his widow is listed as a taxpayer, giving an estimated death year. Oh, I definitely believe in using tax records! On 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 census, > assuming family relationships according to who else was listed on the same > page. > > So, which is correct? OR, did the method of vary for different years? If > 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 instructions > at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html > > -- Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG http://alwaysanxiouslyengaged.blogspot.com/* *AND http://misspeggy55.weebly.com *"We need to haunt the house of history and listen anew to the ancestors' wisdom." ~ Maya Angelou * * * *Accredited Genealogist and AG are certification marks of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Genealogists licensed to use the marks have met the competency standards of ICAPGen*** 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