I’ve just put online my notes from the Melrose dog tax records of 1797. This tax was levied on non-working dogs, so presumably pets, including possibly former working dogs now too old to work. The list is relatively short, but I was quite pleased to see some ancestors pop up in there. Two 6xg-grandfathers: James Blaikie of Langhaugh, and James Usher of Toftfield. Both had two taxable dogs. I wish I knew what the dogs’ names were!
Category: tax records
Studying Melrose hearth tax records for 1694
I’ve just put online my notes from the Melrose parish hearth tax records of 1694. I analysed these records in 2002, as part of my taught Masters postgraduate degree. I was using them to estimate the population of people in Melrose parish then, including a village-by-village breakdown.
Looking through the list of names a couple jumped out at me based on my extensive research into the local regality court records of preceding decades. The long-serving court clerk was still listed in the hearth tax, as was the Gattonside man sued in 1673 after an accused murderer he had acted as surety for escaped on horseback from Melrose jail.
I must study these tax records more closely, to see what other names I recognise from the huge numbers of people who were involved with the court. But this is an interesting start.
Melrose One-Place Study 