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My uncle said that my paternal grandmother had relatives who lived west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I know without her DNA, I can only use my dad's and my own autosomes to help me do my research. I know these relative's ancestry were from Germany. But when I researched colonial records, I came across the term "Tithable Soul." What is this? Is there a good link to look into this?
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My understanding is that it is persons (ususally males) that can be taxed for their property (ususally land). I believe each state had different regulations though - you might want to google it, I know there is a PDF on Virgina tithalbes with good information.Originally posted by GregKiroKHR1bL1 View Post
EDIT: Found this - http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/g...les_vanote.htmLast edited by JTR; 2 December 2012, 11:15 AM. -
Tithable tax. This was done by the church of England before property tax existed. They tax you per person. You were also taxed per slave and Free People of color got charged extra tax for not being born Anglo Saxon. It was a way for the church to get their subjects to pay tax to the church while the church paid no tax.Comment
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To me, it reads like a Royal Proclamation given to the Englishman abroad who has a duty to marry a British Protestant woman. And since the entire community had to march into church every Sunday, it seems very helpful in ancestor tracing. I was just wondering about the historical reasoning behind it all too. And my parents did question the character of the girls I spoke to . . .
MARCH 1642-3
ACT XXVI, 1:257
Charles I, King of England
DECEMBER 1662
Act XII, 2:170
Charles II, King of England
OCTOBER 1705
Chap XXIII, 3:333
Anne I, Queen of England
Wow, I never thought of tithing like that . . .Comment
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You will find tithing (Tax) in the King James version of the bible but its not in the Jewish version. In the Jewish version is is give 10% to your neighbor (land/food ect) for those who are less fortunate than you are. You are not supposed to give money to a house of worship. Read up on Tax and bible history. England had a few versions of their own bibles. You can find this info on line so you can understand Tax history and the Church while researching your ancestors. There are many churches that still practice tithing today but yet the church pays no tax. We still practice tithing today (for example the tax taken out of ones paycheck) only we pay this tax to government instead of church.Originally posted by GregKiroKHR1bL1 View Post
Your ancestor being a tithable soul meant he was over 16 and under retirement age. He had to pay tax to the church for his person. It was a way for the church to get rich off their subjects while the church payed no tax.Last edited by Yaffa; 3 December 2012, 06:01 AM.Comment
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Tithables, Souls, etc.
“Soul” was used both before and after the Revolution in Virginia to signify a poll (head), or taxable individual. As used on county or colony/State tax lists, it held no religious significance.
Also, “tithe” can be understood as “tax.” It was not necessarily a religious tax, nor did it constitute a tenth. Here are two more links that may be helpful:
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Tithing and Poll tax are different. Tithing is the Church. After the rev war they may have kept the term tithing but changed the term from tithing to poll tax. After the rev war the US started paying tax to government instead of church. Poll Tax and tithing tax were both paid for one's person but one was church and one was government. They later did away with poll tax and started with property tax. On top of us paying government tax on our person there are churches today that require or encourage their members to pay a 10% tithing tax ( now used as the term 10% DONATION) to the Church. This 10% is in the King James bible. The tax laws in general kept changing so you need to check dates on tax laws when researching your ancestors and see what tax applied and whenOriginally posted by WCoaster View Post“Soul” was used both before and after the Revolution in Virginia to signify a poll (head), or taxable individual. As used on county or colony/State tax lists, it held no religious significance.
Also, “tithe” can be understood as “tax.” It was not necessarily a religious tax, nor did it constitute a tenth. Here are two more links that may be helpful:
http://johnbrobb.com/Content/VA-Taxes.pdfLast edited by Yaffa; 3 December 2012, 09:10 AM.Comment
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