South Kingstown, Rhode Island Tax Lists 1730-1799
- Author: Judith Green Watson
- SKU: 2147
- ISBN: 089275-827-4
- Our Price:
$69.95
-
Description:
616 pages, hard cover, maps, index, 2007.
"It is clear that she [the author] has achieved a high level of accuracy...and created an essential work for research in the Kingstown, R.I. area." - The American Genealogist
There are two types of tax lists included in this book: valuation bills and rate bills. Each time a tax was ordered, the ratemakers (later called assessors) created a valuation bill that listed the rateable estate of each taxpayer. After calculating the applicable taxes (the poll tax and regular tax), they posted what each person owed onto the rate bill.
There are fifty-seven lists included in this volume, spanning the years 1730 through 1799. However, not all years are represented. The collection of lists for some years is exceptionally complete. The longest period for which no tax lists have been found is the eight years from 1736 through 1743, followed by a six year gap from 1745 through 1750.
These tax lists are of value to a wide array of researchers, including those interested in history, economics, geography, demographics, and genealogy. Scholars have used tax lists to approximate population in non-census years, and because lists exist for three years in which a cencus was taken (1755, 1774, and 1782), they should prove helpful in estimating South Kingstown's population in non-census years during the eighteenth century.
