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THIS AND THAT MISCELLANEOUS GENEALOGY TIPS #3



TAX LISTS - Most colonial counties and towns taxed adult males with what was called a Poll Tax which, depending on the area, were due when a young man reached either sixteen, eighteen or twenty-one and stopped when he reached fifty or sixty - again depending on the area. Sometimes his father became liable for a son's tax when the son reached sixteen to twenty and the tax lists showed them as unnamed tallies under the father's name. Poll and property tax lists can be used as a substitute for the census. Sometimes the county or town clerks added useful descriptions of the common names such as Henry Baker (one arm), Henry Baker (baker) and Henry Baker (blacksmith). A search of these lists can be helpful in identifying men with common names and can indicate when men entered or left the area. Women, children, slaves, indentured servants, landless men over the poll tax age, paupers, ministers, justices of the peace, militia officers, tax assessors and any men that were granted exemption (for whatever reasons) were usually not on the lists.

The Quitrent Tax was a land tax that went either to the crown or to the proprietors. It began in England as a land obligation that was due to the manor and was an annual money payment. The American Revolution ended the quitrents.

Federal Direct Tax, starting in 1798 and through 1917, was used to raise money for armies. In the early years it was levied against real property and slave owners and produced extensive name lists. During the Civil War and later, these taxes were levied as income tax, property taxes and license fees. Most of the early surviving lists have been microfilmed and most are in the state historical societies. The lists from the Civil War and later are being microfilmed by the National Archives.

If you're trying to obtain a copy of a birth, death, marriage or other certificate, check out Vital Records Information Page for United States . This page contains information on obtaining vital records in every county, state and territory in the U.S. along with some great links.

Do you know the name of the town but not the county, go to the Geographic Names Information System ...to get it! Or try Geographic Nameserver

Locate counties in the U. S. and get info on them Maps depicting counties and their locations and lots of other information from U.S. census records. Detailed information on each county in the USA is available at the above listed web page.

Go here for the The Obituary Links Page to access hundreds of online obituary links and related information - divided by state and counties.

And try Familiy Surname ObituaryArchives Online and the incredible Obituary Links with search engines.

If you remember "I" for "into" is Immigration and "E" for Exodus is Emigration - then you will know whether you are coming or going.

GO WEST:
Sources are becoming more and more available outlining the travels of our ancestors. Many publications are now appearing online. A search for Oregon Trail turned up almost 100 hits and had several diaries, letters and first-hand accounts of the trip West on the Oregon Trail. Some sites you may not want to overlook are:

The Overland Trail

American Migrations Web Site

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center

Juliana's Links In the category Search, select "Miscellaneous" and then "Westward Movement".

The Oregon-California Trails Association.

Opening of the California Trail

Mormon Trail - The Pioneer Experience

The Interactive Santa Fe Trail Homepages

Fort Union and the Santa Fe Trail

The Chisholm Trail Anniversary Site

The Chisholm Trail

The Old Spanish Trail Association

Westward Migration in the U. S. 1775-1860

DAR ONLINE:
The library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, one of the most valuable research facilities in the country, has just put its catalog online. The web site says: "The DAR Library was founded in 1896 as a collection of genealogical and historical publications for the use of staff genealogists verifying application papers for the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Shortly after 1900, the growing collection was opened to the public and has remained so ever since."

Non-members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Sons of the Revolution or the Children of the American Revolution pay a small daily user fee to help maintain and to expand the library's collections.

The library is one of the nation's premier genealogical research centers and was recently (1998) ranked the third-most important national institution based on the uniqueness of sources in a listing by publisher Heritage Quest. In late 1998, the library's book collection numbered some 150,000 volumes. Approximately 5,000 new titles enter the Library in any given year.

Many thousands of volumes of genealogical compilations, record abstracts and other materials are available only at the DAR Library. DAR members and the public have contributed these sources, building a collection of great research depth covering all periods of American history. The period of the American Revolution is naturally a major focal point, but the colonial era and the nineteenth century receive detailed coverage as well. Through the efforts of local DAR members and chapters nationwide, approximately 15,000 volumes of Genealogical Records Committee Reports have entered the Library and constitute a unique source for family histories, cemetery record transcriptions, and Bible records.

You can search the catalog at: http://dar.library.net/index.htm
This page also contains some very helpful tips for using the catalog, including how to search for place names, information on historical periods in American history, family names, authors and titles of books, the use of call words, and searching for a particular record type. The catalog will be a huge help for those planning on visiting the facilities in Washington, DC, but those who cannot travel to Washington can also benefit by utilizing the mail search service offered by the library. For details and restrictions on this service, visit the web page at: http://www.dar.org/library/libsearch.html or write to: The DAR Library, 1776 D Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006-5392, Tel: 202-879-3229

***FREE FORMS DOWNLOAD*** Ancestry.com has made available several quality charts and forms for you to use in your research efforts. Keeping track of your research efforts will help you stay organized. Simply download the forms you need and print out as many copies as you wish! You are licensed to download and print these forms for unlimited personal, non-commercial use. Ancestry.com recommends that you print these forms on acid-free paper in order to slow physical deterioration. The Ancestry.com Forms download page is at: http://www.ancestry.com/download/forms.htm

Forms available include:
~ Ancestral Chart
~ Research Calendar
~ Research Extract
~ Correspondence Record
~ Family Group Sheet
~ Source Summary

FEDERAL PENSION LISTS FOR 1835 These pension lists contain more than 6 lines of information on each man. The 12 Southern States and the District of Columbia. The total is about 2500 pages of information on more than 14,000 pension holders.

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