Well, in Colonial Dorchester County, Maryland, Rent Rolls were those books kept by the Rent-Roll Keepers (seriously) in order to assess and collect the "quit-rents" due from the colony's "freemen" to the Lord Baltimore who was the Proprietor of Maryland (in other words, he owned the land). The "quit-rents” were essentially a property tax; however, unlike the property taxes of today, there was no pretense to these--they went directly into the personal coffers of the Calvert family. Quit-rents had their origin in feudal times. -= Bruce Gustin =- -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 20:16 To: [email protected] Subject: Rent Rolls To the list: Could someone explain what "Rent Rolls" are? TIA Bea