Sue I originally submitted a query where I noted that in my research on the Carpenter family of Factoryville, I had obtained an unpublished manuscript which contained a note for Benjamin Carpenter that stated "1843 citizens in or near Factoryville capable of exercising a right of franchise included Benjamin, Peleg, and George. The phrase "Right of Franchise" is not commonly used in genealogy so I ask if someone could tell me about the "Right of Franchise, if there is a published list of the 1843 citizens and if so what other information is provided. My original thought when applying a general definition of Right of Franchise as being a "privilege or right granted by a person, authority , group, or government", was that it may have been a phrase used to describe the processes of acquiring land for those settlers who arrived after the 1794 law (SmL 3:193-94) was enacted. This law made occupancy and improvement mandatory before submission of an application for the land. In this situation a man would pay the land fee but had to occupy and improve the land for five years before making application for survey and title. This policy was in effect until 1817, and I would assume that these people would have a right of franchise over there land until they could make application. This query resulted in several responses that provided some interesting concepts, all of which had merit and, for the most part agreed with your concept of a "self-governing issue and the right to vote". In an article that I located during a web search titled" The Freeman's Oath " ("Genealogies of Charlestown, Mass" by WYMAN) the author noted "in the early days of New England a 'freeman' was a man who held the Right of Franchise". He went on to say the title 'freeman' is not just a title, that "admittance as an inhabitant in the early century was a privilege not lightly acquired, only those being admitted could contribute something of value to the community. To become a 'Freeman', a man had to be not only a proprietor but also be a member of the church in good stand". In support of this statement he made a side note that "in 1776 only one-sixth of the population of Boston were voters; therefore, five-sixths of the people had no participation in their local government". Based on this information, I contacted both the Wyoming County Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and discussed the probability of the term being use in any Pennsylvania land records, warrant books, etc. In both cases I was advised that they had no knowledge of the term ever being used in land applications, warrants, deeds or other related documents. With land excluded, I than looked at the self-governing and right to vote issue. In this area I located an Essay titled 'Free Labor & the American Revolution" by Mark A. Lause, PhD [Copyright (c) 2001] which reads "Pennsylvania: The Extent of Representative". As most of the old proprietary government of Pennsylvania clung to the imperial regime, its overthrow became essential to the declaration of American Independence. As a result, a government of "nobodies" seized power in the state, promulgating the revolutionary Pennsylvania Constitution (1776), virtually eliminating the property requirement for voting establishing a unicameral legislature, and securing perhaps the most radically representative government in the former colonies. While the resident Continental government generally mistrusted it, they had no choice but to accept it for the duration of the war. While farmers and artisans were generally adherents of the new order, the elite resisted the functioning of the government." While not stated in the article the property requirements were eliminated in favor of the payment of public taxes. The tax criteria was in the Original Constitution Of Pennsylvania and remained in affect until a constitutional Amendment was invoked on November 7, 1933 along with the woman's right to vote. Based on the above I must conclude that the note "1843 citizens in or n ear Factoryville capable of exercising a right of franchise included Benjamin, Peleg, and George." was based on a tax register, listing of Taxable or some other similar document and represents a count of eligible voters. I would be interested in any ones views on this subject. Jack Schoedinger Still looking for Benjamin's parents j.schoedinger.2@netzero.net