Until 1976, there were only a few lists of tithables known for Northampton County, namely those for 28 August 1666, a partial list for 1742, and lists for 4 September 1665, 1664-74, and for 1674 in Order Book no. 9. Then, in 1976, a graduate student discovered, in the course of research for his thesis project, tithable lists for 1720 to 1769 in a file not open to the general public. Photocopies were made of the lists; they have since been on the open shelves in the County Courthouse. The transcriptions in this book were prepared from these lists. Where the copies were hard to read, Mr. Bell used the originals to fill in the gaps whenever possible. The tithables cover the years 1720-31, 1733-35, 1737-1744, 1765-66 and 1769. The years 1720-9, 1731 and 1737-1744 appear to be nearly complete. Most of the lists include all tithables: white and black, free and slave; however, many of the lists in the 1730s only give the names of the heads-of-households. The lists for 1723-29 are slightly more elaborate than the others; they include accounts of the number of tobacco plants, lists including boys aged ten (or twelve) to sixteen (not tithables) and distinctions between tithables "employed in the crop" and those otherwise employed.
John B. Bell
(1994), 2008, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, index, 448 pp.
ISBN: 9780788401138
101-B0113
