Additional information
by John B. Bell (Author)
While engaged in organizing his previous book, the author was only aware of the existence of one other seventeenth century tithable list for Northampton County, Virginia, and that was for the year 1666. Since that time the author has discovered two known lists (1667 and 1674) that had remained unpublished from the early Order Books and has found lists for 1662-1669, 1671 and 1674-1677, buried, largely unknown, in other early Order Books. The large volume of unpublished tithables material was enough for the author to consider making a useful transcription for researchers. Covering the early years of Northampton County, after Accomack County was formed, these tithables will be particularly of interest to those doing research on early inhabitants of the Virginia Colony. The tithables show the heads-of-families, and, in most cases, an every name listing of those black and white tithables in the household. Widows are shown (if head of household) thus establishing the recent death of a husband. Male children and slave tithables at twelve (or sixteen) help estimate date of birth or (probable) latest date of parent's marriage. Occupation or comments (such as, son of...) are often the only source of such valuable knowledge. Appearance or disappearance on the list may be a clue to migration patterns. These lists were sometimes badly torn, or blotted, or faded, or difficult to read, or poorly written, but, nevertheless, revealing. They are offered here as near as possible to the original orthography, and are an absolute must to those interested in early Virginia genealogy and history.
