Date of Undated Tax List List of Captain JORDAN's District, Northampton, NC

Question

At Images 24 to 26 of the FamilySearch Presentation of the Northampton, NC, Tax List Data, there appears an undated Tax List for Captain JORDAN's District, Northampton, North Carolina.  A more fulsome reference to include the first page containing the Tax List data is given below:

Northampton, NC, Tax Lists, 1784-1843 [Image 24-6 of 1432]. Tax records, no date, 1784-1828, 1830-1838, 1840-1867; Statement of marriage licenses issued, deeds registered, and taxes due thereon, 1869-1870; Tax records, 1871-1879. Film No. 2439003; DGS No. 7744503. Tax records (Northampton County, North Carolina), 1784-1879. North Carolina. County Court (Northampton County) (Main Author). Digital Presentation of Northampton, NC, Tax List Data at FamilySearch.org.  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C916-K9FW-Q?i=25&cat=1675006

My personal interest in this list pertains to the appearance of Ann (Lewis) ROPER, widow of Richard ROPER, who is shown within this list at Image 26.  Ann (Lewis) ROPER is known to have been granted Letters of Administration for the Estate of Richard ROPER, Deceased, on 03 Jan 1783, so the list was certainly after that date. Greensville, VA, Order Books. Vol. 1, Page 53 [Image 58 of 616].  Ann (Lewis) ROPER's Will, dated 10 Jul 1816, was proved in Northampton in Jun 1818.  So this list must have been for a year in the range of 1783 to 1818.

These JORDAN ancestors are shown on this undated list:

[at Image 26]
JORDAN, Hezekiah:  1,597 [acres] - [$]5,406
JORDAN, George H.:  55 [acres] - [$]270
JORDAN, Thomas' Estate:  303 [acres] - [$]957

[at Image 27]
JORDAN: Arthur:  884 [acres] - [$]2,959
PRITCHARD, HARDY
  for Uriah JORDAN's Heirs:  271 [acres] - [$]618

Other taxpayers present whose deaths might help narrow the range include:

BOYKIN, Sterling
  for Richd RIVES Estate

DUPREE, Jacob's Heirs

FINNIE, Robert:
  for FINNIE Robert's Heirs

PRITCHARD, Joshua's Estate

*

My questions for my fellow genealogists, JORDAN or otherwise, are:

What date or narrower date range can we reasonably ascribe to this Tax List based upon other primary evidence relating to the names shown?

To which JORDAN ancestor profiles should these Tax List records be ascribed?

Thank you!

NOTE:  Another very similar undated Northampton, NC, Tax List from Captain JORDAN's, probably from an adjacent year also appears, at Images 55-58 of the same data series.

Comments

One additional note which would seem to implicitly narrow the possible range of dates for the indicated Tax List for Captain JORDAN's District within Northampton, North Carolina:

The tax assessments and tax amounts for Northampton in years within the 1780s and 1790s seem to have mostly been denominated in pounds, shillings and pence, rather than dollars and cents.  It is unclear to me precisely when the transition year took place, but this is probably ascertainable by examination of other lists.

Exemplary of the prior reliance on pounds, shillings and pence are the examinations of the Northampton County Treaurer's accounts as shown at Images 118 and 128-9.

Northampton, NC, Tax Lists, 1784-1843 [Images 118, 128-9 of 1432]. Tax records, no date, 1784-1828, 1830-1838, 1840-1867; Statement of marriage licenses issued, deeds registered, and taxes due thereon, 1869-1870; Tax records, 1871-1879. Film No. 2439003; DGS No. 7744503. Tax records (Northampton County, North Carolina), 1784-1879. North Carolina. County Court (Northampton County) (Main Author). Digital Presentation of Northampton, NC, Tax List Data at FamilySearch.org.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C916-K9X6-9?i=117&cat=1675006

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C916-K9JT-J?i=127&cat=1675006

Since the undated list expressly shows the amount of the assessed value was denominated in dollars, this probably limits the list to years after about 1800.  Taken together with the known date Ann (Lewis) ROPER's Will was proven, the undated list would seem most likely to be in a range of 1800 to 1818.

Can we narrow the range to a single year by reference to other primary data?

Answer 1

It looks like this may be the family the records pertain to: 

5. Benjamin Jordan, abt 1714. D 1802, Northampton, NC. Son of Arthur Jordan. Benjamin's wife unknown (maybe Sarah Clarke?)

           6. Arthur Jordan, abt. 1760. d. 1840 m. Nancy Boykin

                         7. Martha A. Jordan

                         7. William B. Jordan

                         7. John B. Jordan  

                         m. 1^st Nancy Bynum (sister of Polly Bynum); 

                        m. 2^nd Mary Ann “Polly” Bynum (her 1st husband was Fennel)      

                         7. James W. Jordan  m. Elizabeth B. Branch

               6. Uriah Jordan 1765-1770  m. Mary Washington Branch

               6. Elizabeth Jordan  m. Mr. Harris or Harrison       

               6. Charlotte Jordan  married Mr. Boykin    

                6. ?? Jordan    m. Thomas Dupree

                6. Benjamin Jordan    

                6. George Jordan, 1783-1787 -

Comments

Allison:

It appears to me that Benjamin JORDAN (d bef. Mar 1802 - Northampton, NC) is almost certainly the father of at least the Arthur JORDAN (abt.1763-aft.1830) and the Uriah JORDAN (b abt.1787, d bef. 03 Dec 1810) shown within this undated Tax List.  But the genealogical information within this secondary compilation seems to be erroneous as to Uriah's date of birth.  If you carefully study the 1800 Census record for his father Benjamin and Uriah's 1810 Census record, these seem most consistent with Uriah being born about 1785-1790.

Hezekiah JORDAN (b abt 1766, d bef 09 Jan 1815) seems to be a son of George JORDAN (d bef. Jun 1792 - Northampton, NC).  Hezekiah was also a witness to the 28 Dec 1801 Will of Benjamin JORDAN (d bef. Mar 1802).

There are two George JORDANs shown in the 1810 Census.  Neither is shown to have a middle initial and I haven't yet gotten any further traction on George H. JORDAN.

I also haven't yet identified the Thomas JORDAN shown within this list.

One interesting thing about the identification of Uriah JORDAN, is that Uriah IS enumerated in the 1810 Census.  Census Day that year was August 6, 1810, but compliance with that day was uneven.  Uriah seems to have been already dead by the date of the 03 Dec 1810 administrator's bond executed by widow Mary JORDAN, Norman BRANCH, Arthur JORDAN and George JORDAN.

See:  * "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99CV-XZ4H?cc=1911121&wc=Q64M-2CT%3A183210801%2C183331401%2C1066728930 : 20 November 2015), Northampton County > J > Jordan, Uriah (1811) > image 1 of 65; State Archives, Raleigh.

Given that the undated Tax List shows land owned by Uriah JORDAN's Heirs, and apparently managed by Hardy PRITCHARD, this would seem to implicitly date the list AFTER the date of the administrator's bond.  Since tax declarations were due in the Spring, this seems to narrow the date of the list to the period from about 1811 to 1818.

NOTE:  I edited this reply on 23 Mar 2021 to correct the date of death for Hezekiah JORDAN. 

I had previously found what now seems to likely be another different Hezekiah JORDAN in the 1820 and 1830 Census.  But this Hezekiah JORDAN seems to have moved from Northampton, NC, to Greensville, VA, about 1801.  Hezekiah seems to have died in Greensville, VA, leaving a Will dated 02 Sep 1811, and proved 09 Jan 1815.  Hezekiah is shown in the 1814 Tax List for Greensville.  Hezekiah's Estate is shown to be a taxpayer in 1815.

See: Will of Hezekiah JORDAN, Dated 02 Sep 1811, Proved 09 Jan 1815. Greensville County, Virginia, Wills, Vol. 2, page 368. Will books, v. 1-2 1781-1816. Film No. 31692; DGS No. 7645042. Will books, 1781-1864; general index to wills, 1781-1904 [1928]. General index to wills, 1781-1904 [1928] Virginia. County Court (Greensville County) . Digital Presentation of Greensville Wills at FamilySearch.org.

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Allison:

There also seems to be an extant Northampton, NC, marriage bond dated 26 Apr 1813 showing the marriage of a Mary JORDAN to Hardy PRITCHARD.

Within the context of the Tax List record shown, this seems to me to suggest (a) that Uriah JORDAN's widow Mary may have remarried Hardy PRITCHARD and (b) the Tax List may have been based upon tax declarations made after that marriage.

Since tax declarations were not always made on time, I wouldn't think we could exclude the possibility that this list was made for the year 1813.  It would also be better to find at least one other confirming clue which supports a further narrowing of the range.

But I would think that while Uriah's death supports a very strong inference that the list is after 03 Dec 1810, the indication that Hardy PRITCHARD is paying the taxes for the Uriah JORDAN heirs supports at least a weak inference that the list was compiled after his marriage to Mary JORDAN on 26 Apr 1813.

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With the identification of the date of probate of Hezekiah's Will in Greensville, VA -- 09 Jan 1815 -- we have at least one data point which seems to further narrow the possible interval for this undated Northampton, NC, Tax List.

AFTER the date of probate, one would have expected that Hezekiah JORDAN's Lands would be listed on the Tax Rolls in Northampton either in the names of the legatees OR in name of the Hezekiah JORDAN Estate rather than being listed to Hezekiah JORDAN individually.

Admittedly, if someone (e.g. an executor or administrator) turned in a Tax List in Hezekiah's name and paid the taxes, Hezekiah might appear in the list even if he was dead.

But absent some reason to distrust the list, we ought to assume that the tax declaration was correctly filed in the name of the estate and that the tax list correctly identified the taxpayer.

The appearance of Hezekiah JORDAN on this list would seem to support at least a weak inference that this list was compiled during a year prior to Hezekiah's death, or no later than 1814.