Hampshire County was formed from the Virginia counties of Augusta and Frederick in 1754. Later, during the American Civil War, it became the first Virginia county wholly in the territory that is now West Virginia. Mrs. Vicki Horton is the compiler of a number of Hampshire County genealogical source record collections, six of which are now available from Clearfield Company (see also items 9734, 9339, 9147, 9336, and 9335). Hampshire County Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists consists of alphabetically arranged lists of all persons who paid a property tax for every year between 1800 and 1814, except for 1808, when no tax was collected. For each taxpayer Mrs. Horton has coded the number of white tithables in the household, the number of horses owned, and the number of slaves, if any. On occasion, persons are identified with supporting information, such as occupation. All the taxpayers are readily identified in the comprehensive index at the back of the volume. Since this volume contains more than 20,000 entries, it is hard to imagine a better census approximation of Hampshire County residents for this time period.

"The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were tumultuous times for New Jersey. The settlers in East New Jersey rose in violent opposition to the proprietary government of the province. Antiproprietary agitators, including Richard Saltar, defied the authority of the province courts, often forcibly breaking up the proceedings and physically assaulting the judges. Daniel J. Weeks reveals that the antiproprietary movement was more than a spontaneous outburst against the perceived oppressions of the proprietors. It was, in fact, a concerted and well-planned effort to overthrow proprietary power in New Jersey and establish a government based on the consent of the majority of the freeholders. The troubles had their roots in the very first days of settlement, after the proprietors, private owners of the land and government, refused to recognize the land patents of the settlers."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved