Hi Susan, I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question, perhaps a historian or scholar is watching the list and can fill in the details. My observations come from reading the Hunterdon Gazette and trying to locate people using the 1852 Cornell Map of Hunterdon County. There does appear to be many renters or tenants, or at least people who occupy a farm [property] location. This I derive from the many listings of property for sale and a statement near the end of these items, in which interested persons can view the premises by calling on so and so. So & So's name is usually different from the subscriber - the person who has listed the property. All names printed in the Gazette are listed in the Gazette Index! I also presume, which needs verification, that "land tax" was paid by the owner of record, just as it is today. And finally, the only way to know if a "renter" exists, is to consult the Gazette Index and hope they are noted in one of the advertisements. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Regards, Bill P. S.: And I have a general question to the NJHUNTER List: Each year there are Township and County Elections for the various positions of responsibility. Must the people elected be land owners [Freeholders]? If 'YES', this would rule out renters' or tenants' names appearing in these newspaper items! ----- Original Message ----- From: Susan Pena To: NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 7:58 AM Subject: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land I was wondering if anyone can answer this question. In the early to mid 1800s and before when the country was mostly rural and farmers, were there a lot of people who rented property from someone or possibly "rent to own" type land arrangements as we have them today. When you know your family lived in an area and you can't find a deed for them or their parents, is it likely they could have "rented" property, especially if they were young and just starting out? Also in places where there was land tax collected, was the tax collected from the owner or from the occupant of the land? Is there any way of knowing renter's names of property, if they were just renting the land? Susan ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== Visit the Updated Hunterdon County GenWeb page at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~njhunter ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429

I have been a public official in Texas. Here, it is not required to own property to be an elected official or run for public office. You can be a renter or a "live in" person to be an elected official. The criteria is that you must be a "resident" of a certain place (town or city). I would imagine this is true most everywhere in the US because you can rent property and still have a voter's registration card and vote in elections. Susan ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Hartman" <mrbill1033@comcast.net> To: <NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:12 AM Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land > Hi Susan, > > I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question, perhaps a > historian or scholar is watching the list and can fill in the details. > > My observations come from reading the Hunterdon Gazette and trying to > locate people using the 1852 Cornell Map of Hunterdon County. > > There does appear to be many renters or tenants, or at least people who > occupy a farm [property] location. This I derive from the many listings of > property for sale and a statement near the end of these items, in which > interested persons can view the premises by calling on so and so. So & > So's name is usually different from the subscriber - the person who has > listed the property. > > All names printed in the Gazette are listed in the Gazette Index! > > I also presume, which needs verification, that "land tax" was paid by the > owner of record, just as it is today. > > And finally, the only way to know if a "renter" exists, is to consult the > Gazette Index and hope they are noted in one of the advertisements. > > Sorry I can't be more helpful. > > Regards, Bill > > P. S.: And I have a general question to the NJHUNTER List: > > Each year there are Township and County Elections for the various > positions of responsibility. > Must the people elected be land owners [Freeholders]? > > If 'YES', this would rule out renters' or tenants' names appearing in > these newspaper items! > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Susan Pena > To: NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com > Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 7:58 AM > Subject: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land > > > I was wondering if anyone can answer this question. In the early to mid > 1800s and before when the country was mostly rural and farmers, were there > a lot of people who rented property from someone or possibly "rent to own" > type land arrangements as we have them today. > > When you know your family lived in an area and you can't find a deed for > them or their parents, is it likely they could have "rented" property, > especially if they were young and just starting out? Also in places where > there was land tax collected, was the tax collected from the owner or from > the occupant of the land? Is there any way of knowing renter's names of > property, if they were just renting the land? > > Susan > > > ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== > Visit the Updated Hunterdon County GenWeb page at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~njhunter > > ============================== > New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your > ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn > more: > http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > > > > ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== > This mail list is archived at: > http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/index/NJHUNTER > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx > >