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Perusing Boston's tax records - from the 18th and early 19th centuries

By adamg on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 11:18am

The Boston Public Library announced yesterday it has digitized 90,000 pages of Boston tax records from 1780 through 1821, when the town of Boston became the city of Boston. J.L. Bell takes a quick look.

Neighborhoods: 
Boston
Topics: 
History


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Comments

By Patriciax on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 12:23pm.

Such handwriting!

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By anon on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 1:49pm.

I love leaving notes in cursive to mess with the heads of the young ones who don't know how to write cursive. It's a lost art. So is Gregg Shorthand which I still remember. Not as fast as I used to be, however.

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By Rob on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 3:03pm.

Some sort of nib or quill with an ink bottle, right? Or would these have been entered by pencil?

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By mg on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 12:50pm.

.

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By anon on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 1:47pm.

Is there a way to see them by address?

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By Cute Username on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 5:28pm.

The tables don't list addresses (I don't think street numbers were even really a standardized thing yet in this time period, at least at the 1780 end of things) although it looks like the entries are organized by ward and the "taking books" are listed in the order that the appraiser visited each property, so if someone cross referenced with other historical texts they could narrow down to at least some approximation of more precise locations.

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By Michael on Wed, 07/17/2019 - 9:28pm.

"Citizens of Boston, know ye that these Tax increases are neceffary, being that this Town deserve world-classe options of Transportation, and the increafe Revenue will allowe thy Government to run horse-less Carriages on a Line of purest Orange from Charles-Town to even beyond Roxbury, with saide Carriages being ready for delivery from the Mannufacturers be-fore the Winter of 1785"

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By Section77 on Thu, 07/18/2019 - 8:01am.

After an exhaustive search into who could perform the task for the least shillings.

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