One point I'd like to address: While it's true there were illiterate people among the early settlers, many were better educated than most people today; it was not uncommon for men to have books in Latin and Greek in their estate inventories when they died. My own area of research is somewhat limited to the Valley of Virginia, which had a large number of Scotch-Irish settlers, who were almost fanatical about education. In the 1750s in Augusta Co. VA. --which qualified as "frontier"-- the militia officers were either appointed by the county commissioners or elected by the men of their district. Before the Revolution and after, the majority of officers in both the militia and the "Continentals" were able to read and write, as is evidenced by the records they kept. Joanne Doris Christian <dmkchristian@austin.rr.com> wrote: In my research and readings, I have found that the title of Capt. usually referred to the head of the militia for that area. This was a LONG TIME before the Rev. War. On the frontiers of Va, Pa, and the Carolinas, the settlers had to be protected from Indians and others...... And, they had to do it themselves. The settlers would band together, they usually had a "fort" they could run to for protection.... this was usually one of the first settlers fortified houses. The militia consisted of any able bodied man or boy who could help either at the fort or to go after the Indians who would attack the settlers or the robbers and horse thieves who would come through the area. The Capt. of the militia (sometimes there were Colonels who actually had military experience) was the one who would actually deal with the problem; whether it was going after the Indians or hanging the horse thief. (Remember that in those days, an actual law enforcement officer could be two to five days ride away.) Another thing I have found is that the "Capt. of the militia" was sometimes handed down from father to son. (I assume because the fort was some times their home??) As time went on the " Capt." was called on for other things, including tax rolls. You have to remember that these people were practical. People were called on to do the things they could do.... (During time of war....if you could read and write, had a horse and a gun.....you were an officer in the calvary. If you did not have a horse but cold read and write you were and officer in the army. If you could not read and write, had no horse, you were a foot soldier.) If you needed a tax roll done, you found someone who could read and write, and had time. (Prior to the Rev. tax rolls and any other information that needed collecting was done by the Church of England.) Don't know if this helps or not but basically, there was no written standard for any information collecting prior to or for many years after the Rev. The exception: information collected by the Church of England is probably the most "standard" collection you will find. And by our standards, they are not that great. And, military or militia districts were not set up after the Rev. they existed long, long before that! My documentation for the above comes from reading and proof reading all the books on the website below. Doris On Nov 2, 2006, at 6:41 AM, Frostfreedet@aol.com wrote: > Cindy in WI addressed an issue that there has been a lot of > confusion about: > >>> During the war of the revolution, neighborhoods were divided up >>> for the > purposes of collecting taxes in the state of Virginia and were > assigned to one > local who was responsible for collecting information such as > personal property > taxables. The person responsible for their 'neighborhood districts' > were often > called "Captain" all though, according to a researcher at the > Library of VA, > they were not necessarily 'captains' in the sense that we think of > a captain > today. Sometimes these districts which were originally intended > for the purpose > of collecting taxes were also used as designated militia districts > but not > necessarily.<< > > Cindy, can you give us documentation for this? > The only VA Tithables assessment rolls that survive for the Rev. > War period > that I know of are the ones for 1782. > > The roll for Hampshire Co. VA designates the persons responsible > for each tax > assessment district as Justices of the Peace: > > > Do others have specific examples that can shed light? > > Thank you Cindy, for bringing this up. > > Judy > List Mom for the AMERICAN-REVOLUTION mailing list: > Diana Boothe philsbarbie1@arkansasfamilies.net > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > We have archives! Search for your AMERICAN-REVOLUTION > information here..... > http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl? > list=AMERICAN-REVOLUTION > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > Check out other genealogy resources on the net at John Fuller's > most helpful site http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AMERICAN- > REVOLUTION-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **************************** Visit: http://www.dmkheritage.com To check on the latest County Histories and Parish Records on CDs Indexed and searchable List Mom for the AMERICAN-REVOLUTION mailing list: Diana Boothe philsbarbie1@arkansasfamilies.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have archives! Search for your AMERICAN-REVOLUTION information here..... http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=AMERICAN-REVOLUTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check out other genealogy resources on the net at John Fuller's most helpful site http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Access over 1 million songs - Yahoo! Music Unlimited Try it today.