England, Cheshire, Land Tax Assessments - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Cheshire

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes tax records for the county of Cheshire for the years 1778-1832.

Beginning in 1692, land tax assessments were records of taxpayers from year to year, and were organized parish, hundred, and county. For the period of the collection, these records also served as a form of voter registration. Most of the physical documents were handwritten, but later assessments were recorded on pre-printed forms.

One of the 39 historic counties of England, Cheshire is a coastal county in northwestern England which shares its western border with Wales. For a list of the parishes which historically made up this county with links to more information about each of them, see the Cheshire Parishes page.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The following list indicates potential information provided in these records. It must be remembered that every record may not provide all the listed information, as record-keeping practices varied greatly over time.

Tax Assessment Records may include:
 * Date and place of assessment
 * Name of proprietors or landowners
 * Names of the occupiers or tenants
 * Tax sums assessed in pounds, shillings, and pennies.
 * Additional taxes or sum redemptions in pounds, shillings, and pennies
 * Name of assessor
 * Name of collector
 * Names of those approving the tax

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching, it is best to know the following information: As you search, compare your results with this information to find a match.
 * Name of the person
 * General date of the record

I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy down all the information in the index entry.
 * Cite the record. See below for assistance citing this collection.
 * Use the information you have found to find the individual in other records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century Cheshire are the England Census, Civil Registration, and Parish Registers.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * When looking for an individual with a common name, look at all the search results before deciding which is the correct person. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to help with this decision. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Try variations of given names and surnames. An individual might appear under a different name in a record for a variety of reasons:
 * An individual might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name.
 * Spelling was not standardized for much of the period of this collection, so names were often spelled as scribes heard them. Pay attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try spelling variations that could have that pronunciation.
 * Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, expand the date range or search by either the given name or surname to return broader list results.
 * Search the records of nearby locations. While most people never lived more than 20 miles from their place of birth, moves within this range were common. For this collection,bordering locations could include the English counties of Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south, or the Welsh counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire to the west.

For additional help searching online collections see FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Citing This Collection
Proper citations make it easier to get back to sources that have been found, so citing sources properly can help you keep track of research. Correct citations also allow others to check completed research by giving them a way to find and examine records for themselves.

Below are the proper citations to use for this whole collection as well as for individual records within it:

Collection Citation

Record (or Index) Citation