Maggie LOUGHRAN
Tax, tax and more tax - early British population lists
Over the years, the British government and the church applied taxes to just about anything and everything in an attempt to raise revenue to fund their activities. Many of these early tax records give extensive lists of names, providing us with early ‘census’ substitutes. Not only can they give you information about an individual but also about relationships. They can also give actual addresses and details about property and other information, painting a a glorious picture of the way someone lived and fitted into their local community. These are therefore an essential source for tracing your seventeenth and eighteenth ancestors.