Personal Property
Personal Property Tax Records 1816-1825
Tax records in Wayne County, OH begin in 1816. From 1816-1819 there is no personal property tax records. Rather, there are real property tax records. These are indexed by the first letter of the surname of the present owner. The first column includes the name of the original purchaser. The second column includes the present owner’s name. Additional columns include the part of the section owned, the section, township, range, and county in which property is located. The next column provides the number of acres, the rate of the land, the amount of tax paid (dollars and cents), and any agents who may be involved in the land transaction.
1816 Real Property Tax
The rate of land was the quality of land and was generally rated on a scale from 1 to 3 with 1 being the highest quality. The majority of the land in Wayne County, Ohio was rated a 2.
An agent, as defined in the book, The New A to Zax: A Comprehensive Genealogical Dictionary for Genealogists and Historians, is “a person who acts with permission for another whether the permission is implied or express.”
In 1820, the organization of the real property tax book was slightly different. The first two columns include the proprietor names out of the county and in the county, respectively. The records are indexed by the proprietor’s name. (They are not indexed in strict alphabetical order. They are indexed by the first letter of the surname.) The next part of the tax book gives the acres and rate of land. It looks similar to the following:
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 160 | ||
| 320 | ||
| 80 |
The top row signifies the rating of the property. The 160, 320 and 80 acres refer to the acreage. So for these entries, the first land owner owns 160 acres rated 2 (good); the second land owner has 320 acres of land rated 1 (very good); the third land owner owns 80 acres rated 3 (poor).
1820 Real Property Tax
You will notice that on the second page of the entry, the amount of tax owed is given in dollars (D), cents (C), and mills (M). Mills are equivalent to 1/1000 of a dollar or 1/10 of a cent.
The last two columns include the original purchaser's name and any remarks the tax collector recorded.
The 1821 tax record is very similar to the 1820 tax record. The main difference is the taxes were divided by state tax ($, ¢, m) and road tax ($, ¢, m). A column for the total tax is included.
1821 Real Property Tax
The 1822 tax record is the same as the 1821. However, there is a column for remarks. The 1823, 1824, and 1825 tax records are the same format as the 1821 tax records. Personal Property Tax Records 1826
Personal Property Tax Records 1826
Beginning in 1826, personal property tax records may be found in addition to the real property tax records. In addition, each township is listed separately rather than all townships indexed together. Within each township, the names are listed in order by the first letter of the last name. The names are not in strict alphabetical order.
The townships are in order according to range and township number. A separate number was assigned to each township. For example, Paint Township is # 1, followed by Sugar Creek Township # 2 and Baughman # 3.
- Paint (1): R 11, T 15
- Sugar Creek (2): R 11, T 16
- Baughman (3): R 11, T 17
1826 Real Property Tax
The column headings in the 1826 real property tax records include:
First page
- Column 1: lands & houses & owner’s names
- Column 2: range
- Column 3: township
- Column 4: section
- Column 5: part [L Sec & parts]
- Column 6: acres
- Column 7: value including houses
Second page
- Column 1: state tax (D, C)
- Column 2: county tax (D, C)
- Column 3: road tax (D, C)
- Column 4: township tax (D, C)
- Column 5: amount (D, C)
- Column 6: remarks
As a notation, when designating the location of property, if the range and township numbers are not given, this usually implies the owner has property within the town or village limits or just on the outskirts of the town or village. Many times, you will see the notation in-lot and out-lot used. In-lot means the property is within the village, town, or city limits. Out-lot means the property is just outside the limits.
The 1826 personal property tax records include the owner’s name of the property. The aggregate value of the horses, mules, and asses are given as well as the aggregate value of cattle. As a general rule, 1 horse was valued at $40 and 1 cow at $8. Other information includes the capital of merchants; number and value of pleasure carriages; the amount of state, county, road, and township tax; the total amount of taxes; and a column for remarks.
1826 Personal Property Tax
The personal property tax records follow the real property tax records within each township.
Personal Property Tax Records 1827, 1828, 1829
The 1827, 1828, and 1829 tax records are the same as the 1826 tax records. However, in the 1829 tax records, there is a table of contents to the townships provided. The table of contents gives the range, township, and page number.
The tax records our department has on microfilm from 1830-1836 varies slightly with each year. The following pages will be devoted to listing what is included with each tax year.
Personal Property Tax Records 1830
The 1830 tax records include an index to the township, giving the range and township. In addition, the assigned number of the township and the page number are given.
Real property tax records include the following information:
- Owner’s name
- Range, township, section, part, acres, value
- State tax (dollars, cents, mills)
- County tax (dollars, cents, mills)
- Total tax (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal property tax records include the following information:
- Owner’s name
- Horses, mules, asses and the aggregate value
- Head of cattle and the aggregate value
- Merchant capital, lawyers, physicians
- Pleasant carriage (number and value)
- State tax (dollars, cents, mills)
- County tax (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal Property Tax Records 1831
The 1831 tax records are the same as 1830 with the following changes:
Real property tax records now include a canal, school, and township tax (dollars, cents, mills).
Personal property tax records have the headings horse and aggregate value, cattle and aggregate value, and merchant capital. There is no column for lawyers, physicians, or pleasant carriages.
Personal Property Tax Records 1832
In 1832, all real property tax records are listed first. They are followed by the personal property tax records. Both real and personal property tax records are organized by township and within each township, by the first letter of the surname.
Real property tax records include the following information:
- Owner’s name
- Range, township, section, part, acres, value
- State and canal taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
- County and school taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
- Road, township, total taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal property tax records include the following information:
- Horse and value
- Cattle and vale
- Merchant capital
- Money @ interest
- Total value
- State and county taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
- Road, township, and total taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal Property Tax Records 1833
The 1833 tax records are the same as the 1832 tax records. However, personal property tax records follow immediately the real estate tax records within each township.
Pleasure carriages are listed in 1833. These were not listed in 1832. In addition, there are no township taxes. Only state, county, and road taxes are included.
Personal Property Tax Records 1834
There is an index to the townships includes. Also, there is a table showing the percentage of taxes levied in each township.
Real property tax records include the following information:
- Owner’s name
- Range, township, section, part, acres, value
- State, county, road, township, and total taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal property tax records include the following information:
- Owner’s name
- Horses and value
- Cattle and value
- Merchant’s capital
- Money at Interest
- Pleasant carriages
- State, county, road, township, and total taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal Property Tax Records 1835
A table showing the percentage of taxes levied in each township and an index to the townships is included. There is a separate list for lawyers and physicians.
1835 Index
1835 Taxes Levied
1835 Lawyers and Physicians Tax
Real property taxes include the following:
- Owner’s name
- Range, township, section, part, acres, value
- State/canal, county/school, road, township, and total taxes
No personal tax records exist on the reel for 1835. However, there is a recapitulation including the township totals for acreage and value of land in addition to the following: horses, cows, merchant capital, pleasure carriages, money at interest, state/canal, county/school, road, township, and school house tax.
1835 Recapitulation
The total percentages are given in mills. A good explanation of how these numbers are calculated does not exist in this manual. It is beyond the scope of this text. However, in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_tax) it mentions that the property tax rate is often given as a percentage. It could also be expressed as a permille, or the amount of tax per thousand currency units of property value. Further research is necessary.
On page 274 of Douglass’ History of Wayne County, Ohio published in 1878 there is a brief discussion in regards to the valuation of real and personal property. Douglass indicates that the number of mills indicates the amount of tax in dollars on each thousand dollars of valuation. Douglass’ book gives a summary of the aggregate valuation for the years 1875 and 1876.
In microfilm, there is a delinquent tax list for 1835. Other listing of delinquent tax lists may be found in local newspapers.
1835 Delinquent Tax List
The 1834-1838 tax records provide an index to the townships.
Personal Property Tax Records 1836
The 1836 tax records are the same as 1835. No personal property taxes are included. However, the recapitulation includes: acreage, value of land, horses, cows, merchant capital, pleasure carriages, money at interest, state/canal, county/school, road, township, and school house tax.
1836 Recapitulation
Personal Property Tax Records 1837
In 1837, there are both real and personal property tax records. Real tax records include the following: Owner’s name; range, township, section, part/quarter, acres/value; state, county, road, and total tax; and delinquent tax. This is the first year that delinquent taxes are included.
Personal tax records include the number and value of horses and cattle; merchant capital; money at interest; and the number and value of pleasure carriages. Values are given in dollars, cents, and mills.
In 1837, there is a recapitulation of the taxes and an index to the townships. The recapitulation includes the following:
- Township
- Acres, value of land, value of town land
- Value of horses and cattle
- Merchant capital
- Pleasure carriages
- Money at interest
- Total value
- State/canal, county/school, road, township, school house, and delinquent taxes (dollars, cents, mills)
Personal Property Tax Records 1838
The 1838 tax records are identical to the 1837 tax records with the exception that no personal property tax records are listed.