Conaway Taxes in Coshocton, Ohio 1821 to 1826

I've been analyzing the tax records for John Conaway and Charles Conaway in Coshocton, Ohio. To make sense of the information and understand what it meant, I also needed to learn about the tax laws and tax rates of the time.

The Family History Library has Coshocton tax records on microfilm from 1816 to 1838. I looked at the records from 1816 to 1826.

I was surprised to find that John didn't appear in the tax records until 1821. John made his first payment on the land in 1815. In researching this, I learned that land did not become taxable until after it had been entered for five years. The timing of John's first tax bill in 1821 makes sense in this case.

Here are the taxes John owed in 1821:

John Conaway, Non Resident proprietor

Range 9, Township 5, Section 7, Qtr Sect. NE

Acres 160, Rate 2

State Tax $1.20

Road Tax .60

Total Tax $1.80

Wondering what the tax rate means? Land taxes were based on whether fertility was “first rate,” “second rate,” or “third rate.”

In 1822, John is still listed as a "Non Resident proprietor."

Acres 160, Rate 2

State Tax $1.80

Road Tax .60

Total Tax $2.40

In 1823, John's status and the land tax rate are the same. Here's what he owed:

State Tax $4.15 8 mils (mil = 1/1000 of a dollar)

Road Tax 1.38 6 mils

Total Tax $5.54 4 mils

Years due 1822 (It appears John hadn't yet paid his 1822 taxes.)

The top picture shows the column heads for the 1823 tax records, Coshocton, Ohio.

The bottom picture shows the tax assessment for John Conaway.

In 1824 a couple things changed. John is finally listed as a "resident proprietor." And now, his land is categorized as third rate. At first, I thought that after working the land for a few years, John found it wasn't very fertile. But I did more research and found that this was a common occurrence - the fertility "rate" of the land was often reduced over the years. According to Ohio historians, this widespread practice was adopted by people to procure a lower tax rate!

1824

State Tax $.89 6 mils

Road Tax .40

Total Tax $1.29 6 mils

1825

State Tax $1.20

Road Tax $.40

Total Tax $1.60

In 1825, an act was passed abolishing the land classification system and replacing it with a value-based tax on land and personal property. Lands, town lots, and buildings, dwelling houses and carriages were to be valued  at their true value in money, while horses, mules, and asses were assessed at $40 each and cattle at $8.

In 1826, John is taxed on his personal property for the first time. And, Charles Conaway (believed to be his brother) shows up in the records for the first time, to be taxed on his personal property. Charles was not a Coshocton land owner, so he owed no real estate tax.

1826 John Conaway Property Tax

Acres 160

Rate of taxation 312

.62 4 mils

.78

.15 6 mils

Total tax $1.56

1826 John Conaway Personal Property Tax

2 horses valued at $40 each - $80

2 cattle valued at $8 each - $16

.19 2 mils - tax on horses

.24 - tax on cattle

.04 8 mils - tax on ?

Total Tax 48 cents

1826 John Conaway Total Property and Personal Property Tax Due $2.04

1826 Charles Conaway Personal Property Tax

Personal Property Tax

1 horse valued at $40

1 cow valued at $8

.09 6 mils - tax on horse

.12 cents - tax on cow

.02 cents 4 mils - tax on ?

Total Personal Property Tax 24 cents

Total Tax Due $.24

This is as far as I have gone in the tax records. There's one more mystery - why was John listed as a non-resident proprietor from 1821 to 1823? Was he living on other land during this time period? I'll need to do more research to try to answer this question.