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.

Abraham L. and Ida Mae Cloe

I have been tracing the family of my great-great-aunt Ida Mae (Weaver) Cloe. Ida married Abraham Lincoln Cloe December 23, 1883, in Marion County, Iowa. Ida was the sister of my great-grandfather, James Baird "Jay" Weaver.

Ida Mae (Weaver) Cloe, Phebe (Linnens) Weaver, and Anna (Weaver) Gamble.

Phebe and John Weaver had  12 children, but only two daughters

(Ida and Anna) who lived into adulthood.

December 25, 1933 Riverside Daily Press

COUPLE OBSERVE GOLDEN WEDDING

Residents of Mockingbird Canyon Celebrate Anniversary

Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Cloe Saturday at their home in Mockingbird canyon celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, with two children, two grandchildren, and one great-grand child present on the happy occasion.

Married in Knoxville, Tenn., December 23, 1883, six children were born to the union, five of whom are living. Two were present at the anniversary dinner, Mrs. Olive Harrision, Hemet, and G. B. Cloe, Mockingbird canyon. Mr. and Mrs. Cloe are the grandparents of 26 children and great-grand parents of six.

They have been residents of Riverside for five years, removing here from Los Angeles. Both are in the best of health and are looking forward to many more happy years together.

August 12, 1940 Riverside Daily Press

CLOE - In Riverside, Calif., August 10, 1940. Mrs. Ida Mae Cloe, aged 74 years. Late resident of 3743 Van Buren street. Beloved wife of Abraham Cloe of Arlington. Mother of Mrs. Iona Mathers of Arlington, Mrs. Stella Neher of Los Angeles, Mrs. Pearl Booth of Tacoma, and Mrs. Olive Truman of Hollywood. Sister of O. E. Weaver of Omaha, W. H. Weaver of Canyon City, Colo.; Jay and John Weaver of Los Angeles and Charles Weaver of Riverside. Also survived by nineteen grandchildren and twenty-five great grandchildren. Funeral services will be conducted in the E. H. Preston Funeral Home chapel Wednesday afternoon, August 14, at 3:30 o’clock. Rev. William R. McGaugh officiating. Interment in Olivewood Cemetery.

July 13, 1942 Riverside Daily Press

Many Descendants Survive A. L. Cloe

Abraham Lincoln Cloe, whose family included 25 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren, passed away last Thursday. He was a resident of 3743 Van Buren street.

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon. Dr. C. E. Burgess, pastor of First Christian church, officiated at the rites in the E. H. Preston chapel and interment was in Olivewood cemetery.

Born Nov. 12, 1860, in Marin [Marion] county, Iowa, he grew up and married Ida May Weaver there December 23, 1883. They left Iowa in 1899 and lived in Oklahoma, Nebraska and Washington before coming to California in 1921.

In 1929, Mr. and Mrs. Cloe moved from Los Angeles to Mockingbird cayon and then in 1937 to Arlington where she passed away two years ago.

Four daughters surviving are Mrs. Iona Mathers of Arlington, Mrs. Estella Neher and Mrs. Olive Trueman of Los Angeles and Mrs. Pearl Booth of Tacoma, Wash. The grandchildren include Mrs. Marva Babcock, Mrs. Doris Ubrun, Mrs. June Hoyles, Miss Velma Mathers and Ross Mathers, all of Riverside. Mrs Alice Shaffer of Marshalltown, Iowa, is a sister.

John Conaway's Lease for Land in Cross Creek, Virginia, 1805

In 1805, John Conaway of Brooke County, Virginia, signed a three-year lease for land belonging to Samuel Roberson. John died in late 1806, and his wife Elizabeth was later taken to court for breach of contract. Brooke County is now a part of the panhandle area of West Virginia. 

An Article of an Agreement made and Entered into this twelfth Day of April one thousand eight hundred and five Between Samuel Roberson of Washington County Pennsylvania of the one part and John Conaway of Brook County Virginia of the other part witnesseth that the said Roberson Doth Rent unto the said Conaway a plantation where the said Roberson Formerly Lived on the Waters of Cross Creek Brook County Virginia for the term of three years Commencing the first Day of April in the year of our Lord 1806 and to end in the year of our Lord 1809 April the first And the said Conaway is to pay the said Roberson three hundred Dollars in manner following on hundred on the first Day of April 1807 One hundred on the first Day of April 1808 and one hundred On the first Day of April 1809 and the said Conaway is to Clean up a Certain peace of ground already under fence adjoining to the shugar Camp and that the Conaway is to give the said Roberson one third of the shugar every year and the said Roberson is to find pot Mettle in proportion to his part of the shugar and the said Roberson is to have one wagon Load of Apples every baring year during the three years and the said Conaway is to grub pick and fence in a piece of ground adjoining to the great Road and make it fit for the plow and the said Conaway is to clean up another peace of ground adjoining the peach Orchard and put it in good Order for the plow and the said Conaway is to have Liberty of seeding twenty acres of ground in small grain the first year of his time and that the said Conaway is not to double crop any of the afore mentioned place without the said Robersons leave the plantation to be left in good tenant able repare and no timber to be used for anything but firewood and fence bales and the said Conaway is to deliver up peacefully possession at the expiration of the three years in the penalty of two hundred if either party of lying from this contract shall forfeit and pay the other the above mentioned penalty.

John Conaway {seal}

Samuel Robinson {seal}

Witness

Daniel Nicholls
John Wiggins

A copy of the lease agreement in the court records

Source: Superior Court Records, Brooke County, West Virginia, 1810, Envelope 284, "Samuel Robison vs. William Henry and Elizabeth Conway Adm. of John Conway, Dec." Family Search Microfilm #186281.  

Dear Sister - A Letter from Adolphus Conaway

Here's an historical letter from our family archive. Adolphus Conaway, my second great grandfather on my mom's side grew up in Knox County, Ohio, and was 20 years old when he wrote this letter. He enlisted in the Civil War two years later, on May 14, 1864. (Note that I corrected the spelling in this letter many years ago, before I fully appreciated the value of an exact transcription.)

Ashgrove, Iroquois Co., Ill.

September 29, [18]62

Dear Sister,

I take my pen in hand to drop a line to let you know that I am well and have been ever since we started. I never felt better in my life. I have gained about fifteen pounds since I left Ohio. We reached here about the sixth of September. I got a letter from father yesterday. He said they was all well and says he is coming out to see me as soon as he gets his corn husked. I like this part of Illinois very well. They have such good water here and good land too. It is only a half mile to timber from my boarding place. I am boarding with Mr. McCray. We are going to move the sheep up to an area this week about fifteen miles from here. I have wrote to you twice since I have started I wrote to New Guilford. And to Utica. Oh Tama I was awful homesick but I have got over it. The frost killed the corn here in August. And we have had the hard frost since we got here. I have not got my clothes yet. I wrote about a week after before we got here and twice since we got here. Mr. Long got a letter from Mr. Connard. He said he had not heard from any of us since we started. And I have wrote four or five times since we started. I don't know what is the reason he does not get my letters. I do not know where to write to you but I will write to Circleville to Mr. Calhoun. You may write to Ashgrove post And I will have the letter forwarded on to wherever we go to. I have written about fifteen letters since I got here and have only got two. And you do not know how glad I was to hear from the old Buckeye state. Now Tama I want you to write as soon as you get this letter. I would like to hear from you. I want you to tell me how Grandpop Horn’s folks are. I have wrote twice to grandpop, you three times and have got no answer. I wrote to Wash Houck and to Uncle Addam and to Mr. Connards folks and have not got any answer. I have a fine time herding sheep as it is easy work. I have a very good dog to help me. I will be glad if you sent them socks. I will pay for them. Do write soon. This is wrote in a hurry and so much noise.

A. Conaway

Notes:
"Tama" was Phytama Conaway, who married John Heilman. She was three years younger than Adolphus. 

"Wash" Houck was Adolphus's first cousin, Washington Houck, the son of Margaret (Horn) Houck and William Houck.

Uncle Addam was probably Adam Scott, who married Arzina Horn, one of Adolphus's aunts on his mother's side. 

Hannah Harmon and Her Children

Early in my genealogy research, when I discovered my third great-grandmother, Hannah (Townsend) Harmon, I was struck by the number of children she had. With her first child being born in 1836, and her last born 21 years later in 1857, she had about one child every two years for twenty years. Here is the list of her 13 known children:

Mary Jane, born in 1836
James, 1837
William, 1839
Nancy, 1841 (my great great grandmother)
Richard, 1844
Martha, 1845
Charles, 1846
Hiram, 1848
David, 1850
George, 1852
Sarah, 1854
Hannah, 1855
Albert, 1857

Hannah died in 1865, at the age of 48. She is buried at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Spring Creek, Iowa.

William Harmon's Farm in Boone County, Indiana

My 3rd great-grandfather, William A. Harmon bought land in Indiana when a young man. I saw the paperwork at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in December of last year. 

Land certificate #18968

Jan 14, 1834

Received from William Harmon of Boone County, Indiana, the sum fifty dollars and -- cents; being in full for the North West quarter of the North East quarter of Section Nine in Township Number Seventeen North, of Range Number Two East, containing forty acres, and -- hundredths at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Abner MCorty, Receiver.

William's brother-in-law, Elisha Bishop Townsend also bought land in the same township the same year:

Land certificate #20456

Aug 14 1834

Elisha Bishop Townsend of Johnson Co., Indiana purchased NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of section 11, township 17 North Range 2 East; 40 acres, $1.25 per acres; $50.

The next year, William Harmon purchased another 40 acres.

Land certificate #22788

March 7, 1835

Received from William Harmon of Boone County, Indiana, the sum fifty dollars and -- cents; being in full for the North West quarter of the South East quarter of Section Three in Township Number Seventeen North, of Range Number Two East, containing forty acres, and -- hundredths at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Abner MCorty, Receiver.

By 1856, William and his wife Hannah moved their family to Spring Creek, Blackhawk, Iowa, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

John Conaway, Head of Family at 19

I've written before (Mar 17, 2013) about John Conaway, who purchased land in Coshocton County, Ohio and established a village there. Here is a transcript of the record of his land purchase. John purchased this land when he was 19 years old. By 1820, John and his wife, and his widowed mother, brother, and sister had moved to Coshocton County, Ohio. 

Land Office at Zanesville

April 5, 1825

Final Certificate

It is hereby certified, that pursuant to several acts of Congress providing for the sale of the public lands of the United States, John Conway of Brooke County, Virginia did, at the date hereinafter specified, purchase of the Register of the Land Office aforesaid, the following described lands, viz: being the North East quarter of Section No. Seven in Township No. Five of Range No. Nine of the Zanesville Military district, on which further credit has heretofore been granted, and to complete the payment due on said land, the said John Conway has availed himself of the relief granted by the act of Congress of the 18^th of May 1824 entitled “An Act to provide for the extinguishment of the debt due to the United States by the purchasers of public lands.” The account for said tract has therefore, been finally settled and closed on the books of this office, as will more fully appear from the following statement thereof:

No. of certificate: 1319

Date of purchase: 1815 May 22

Tract: To NE ¼ of S7 T5 Rg My

Purchase money $320

Rate $2

Acres 160

Date of Payment: 1815 May 22

Payment by Cash: $80

Date of Purchase: Apl 5 1825

To interest on $100 for 3.6.5: $21.08

Date of Payment: 1819 May 14

Payment by Cash:

Interest $9.68

Purchase Money: $40

Date of Payment: Apl 5 1825

Discount on $221.08: $82.90

Payment by Cash: 138.18

Total Interest: $9.68

Total Payment: 341.08

Now, therefore be it known, that on presenting this Certificate to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, John Conway aforesaid shall be entitled to receive a patent for the land described above.

Signed W. Tileman,

Register of the Land Office