The names of individuals whose lives and activities are not mentioned in church, probate, or land records may only be found in "occasional" lists such as the ones compiled in this work. These varied sources include the Baltimore County tax lists of 1692, 1694, 1695, and 1737; levy papers of 1737; livestock marks; various petitions; debt book of 1754; and lists of taxed bachelors, 1756-1763. Because these lists were originally compiled for specific purposes, they exhibit a variety of characteristics.
The tax lists contain all white males sixteen years of age and older, and all slaves of either sex, of whatever age. White women were usually only named when they were widows, and the servants and/or slaves at their plantations were being enumerated. The levy papers and levy lists contain names of individuals who were compensated by the county government for a variety of services, ranging from caring for an indigent pensioner to bringing in squirrels' or wolves' heads for a bounty. Lists of contributors to the building of St. Thomas' Church, or to the sufferers of the Boston fire, reveal the religious affiliation of those named. The leases for three lifetimes usually contain the name of the lessee, his or her age, and the names and ages of two other family members. The lists of taxed bachelors contain bachelors over the age of twenty-five whose net worth was 100 pounds or more, and those whose net worth was 300 pounds or more. These bachelors were to pay a special tax to help finance the French and Indian War. Lists not only place an individual in a certain place and time, but they may shed light on his lifestyle, philosophy, political beliefs, or socio-economic status.
F. Edward Wright
(1987), 2007, 5½x8½, paper, index, 128 pp.
ISBN: 9781585490103
101-W0010
