Understanding and Transcribing Historical Tax Rolls Female Servants Tax, 1785-1792 1. Introduction to Female Servants Tax records 2. Transcribing the records and field help 3. Records available for transcription 4. Transcription examples 1. Introduction to Female Servant Tax records Taxes were levied on households employing 'non-essential' female servants between 1785 and 1792. Most of the servants listed were engaged in domestic work. The tax schedules (National Records of Scotland, E326/6) cover the years 1785-1792 and are divided county by county and then by parish and household, with separate volumes for the royal burghs. The parish and burgh schedules are arranged by household, listing the name of each householder liable for the tax and usually the name and designation of each servant. 2. Transcribing the records and field help Reading historical documents, also known as palaeography, can often be a challenge, but practise helps your learning experience. Before too long, you will read historical documents with few problems. The tax records of the later 18th century are written in what is called a cursive hand style, which is very similar to ‘joined-up handwriting’ that we know today. Most of the letter forms and words should be familiar to the reader, but there may be a few abbreviations, contractions, letter forms or words which may be unknown or unusual to those working with the documents. The Female Servants Tax records are thought to fall in the intermediate and advanced categories, so are perfect for those who have worked with these type of records before, or for those who have experience in working with 18th century handwriting and documents. There are three different styles of form which gather roughly the same types of information. Examples of the forms can be found on the following pages. A guide to the fields and the information entered into each can be found after the screen shots. Page 1 Guidance version: 1.0 Date: 2013-06-04 Understanding and Transcribing Historical Tax Rolls Female Servants Tax, 1785-1792 Female Servant Tax, volumes 1-18 Female Servant Tax, volumes 19-24 Page 2 Guidance version: 1.0 Date: 2013-06-04 Understanding and Transcribing Historical Tax Rolls Female Servants Tax, 1785-1792 Female Servant Tax, volumes 25-28 Field help Date The date of the record should be inserted here if it is present in the original record. It should be in the format of: DD MMM YYYY, for example: 22 Oct 1785 Master/Mistresses name The name of the master or mistress should be entered here. Transcribe the information as it is written. If the first name is abbreviated, expand to include the whole name. If there is a further abbreviation, type it fully after the abbreviation and place in square brackets. For example, should be entered: Alexander Udny Esqr [Esquire] Servants names The name of the servant should be entered here. Transcribe the information as it is written. If the first name is abbreviated, expand to include the whole name. If there is a further abbreviation, type it fully after the abbreviation and place in square brackets. Children under 14 This should be entered as it appears in numerical form Number of servants This should be entered as it appears in numerical form Bachelor servants This should be entered as it appears in numerical form One servant This should be entered as it appears in numerical form Two servants This should be entered as it appears in numerical form Page 3 Guidance version: 1.0 Date: 2013-06-04 Understanding and Transcribing Historical Tax Rolls Female Servants Tax, 1785-1792 Three or more servants This should be entered as it appears in numerical form Duty Financial sums should be entered using the format of £1.2.3 For example, the, should be entered: £5.5.0 10% per 31 George III Financial sums should be entered using the format of £1.2.3 For example, the, should be entered: £5.5.0 Transcribe other information Enter here any handwritten information found in the header or footer of the page, or any marginalia Transcriber’s notes This can be used to record any other notes which the transcriber would find useful for others who may use this record 3. Records available for transcription The following volumes located at the National Records of Scotland have been digitised and made available for transcription: Female servant tax, volume 1 NRS reference: E326/6/1 Dates: 1785-1786 Transcription difficulty: Advanced Volume 1 contains female servant tax rolls for the following counties: Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Ayrshire, Banffshire, Berwickshire, Caithness, Clackmannanshire, Cromartyshire, Dunbartonshire, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Fife, Angus, Inverness-shire, Kincardineshire, Kinross-shire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Lanarkshire. Female servant tax, volume 2 NRS reference: E326/6/2 Dates: 1785-1786 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 2 contains female servant tax rolls for the following counties: Midlothian, Morayshire, Nairnshire, Orkney, Peeblesshire, Perthshire, Renfrewshire, Ross-shire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Shetland, Stirlingshire, Sutherland, West Lothian and Wigtownshire. Female servant tax, volume 3 NRS reference: E326/6/3 Dates: 1785-1786 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 3 contains female servant tax rolls for the following burghs: Aberdeen, Arbroath, Ayr, Banff, Brechin, Burntisland, Campbeltown, Crail, Cullen, Culross, Cupar, Dingwall, Dumbarton, Dumfries, Dunbar, Dundee, Dunfermline, Dysart, Edinburgh, Elgin, Forfar, Forres, and Fortrose. Female servant tax, volume 4 NRS reference: E326/6/4 Dates: 1785-1786 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 4 contains female servant tax rolls for the following burghs: Glasgow, Haddington, Inveraray, Inverbervie, Inverkeithing, Inverness, Irvine, Jedburgh, Kinghorn, Kilrenny, Kirkcaldy, Kirkwall, Lanark, Lauder, Linlithgow, Montrose, Nairn, North Berwick, Peebles, Pittenweem, Perth, Queensferry, Renfrew, Rothesay, Rutherglen, St. Andrews, Stirling, and Tain. Female servant tax, volume 5 NRS reference: E326/6/5 Dates: 1786-1787 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 5 contains female servant tax rolls for the following counties: Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Ayrshire, Banffshire, Berwickshire, Buteshire, Caithness, Clackmannanshire, Cromartyshire, Dunbartonshire, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Fife, Angus, Inverness-shire, Kincardineshire, Kinross-shire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Lanarkshire. Female servant tax, volume 6 NRS reference: E326/6/6 Dates: 1786-1787 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 6 contains female servant tax rolls for the following counties: Midlothian, Morayshire, Nairnshire, Orkney, Peeblesshire, Perthshire, Renfrewshire, Ross-shire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Shetland, Stirlingshire, Sutherland, West Lothian and Wigtownshire. Female servant tax, volume 7 NRS reference: E326/6/7 Dates: 1786-1787 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Page 4 Guidance version: 1.0 Date: 2013-06-04 Understanding and Transcribing Historical Tax Rolls Female Servants Tax, 1785-1792 Volume 7 contains female servant tax rolls for the following burghs: Aberdeen, Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Arbroath, Ayr, Banff, Brechin, Burntisland, Campbeltown, Crail, Cullen, Culross, Cupar, Dingwall, Dumbarton, Dumfries, Dunbar, Dundee, Dunfermline, Dysart, Edinburgh, Elgin, Forfar, Forres, and Fortrose. Female servant tax, volume 8 NRS reference: E326/6/8 Dates: 1786-1787 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 8 contains female servant tax rolls for the following burghs: Glasgow, Haddington, Inveraray, Inverbervie, Inverkeithing, Inverness, Irvine, Jedburgh, Kinghorn, Kilrenny, Kirkcaldy, Kirkcudbright, Kirkwall, Lanark, Lauder, Linlithgow, Lochmaben, Montrose, Nairn, North Berwick, Peebles, Pittenweem, Perth, Queensferry, Renfrew, Rothesay, Rutherglen, St. Andrews, Stirling, Stranraer, Tain, and Wigtown. Female servant tax, volume 9 NRS reference: E326/6/9 Dates: 1787-1788 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 9 contains female servant tax rolls for the following counties: Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Ayrshire, Banffshire, Berwickshire, Buteshire, Caithness, Clackmannanshire, Cromartyshire, Dunbartonshire, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Fife, Angus, Inverness-shire, Kincardineshire, Kinross-shire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Lanarkshire, Stirlingshire, Sutherland and West Lothian. Female servant tax, volume 10 NRS reference: E326/6/10 Dates: 1787-1788 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 10 contains female servant tax rolls for the following counties: Midlothian, Morayshire, Nairnshire, Orkney, Peeblesshire, Perthshire, Renfrewshire, Ross-shire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Shetland and Wigtownshire. Female servant tax, volume 11 NRS reference: E326/6/11 Dates: 1787-1788 Transcription difficulty: Advanced Volume 11 contains female servant tax rolls for the following burghs: Aberdeen, Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Arbroath, Ayr, Banff, Brechin, Burntisland, Campbeltown, Crail, Cullen, Culross, Cupar, Dingwall, Dumbarton, Dumfries, Dunbar, Dundee, Dunfermline, Dysart, Edinburgh, Elgin, Forfar, Forres, and Fortrose. Female servant tax, volume 12 NRS reference: E326/6/12 Dates: 1787-1788 Transcription difficulty: Intermediate Volume 12 contains female servant tax rolls for the following burghs: Glasgow, Haddington, Inveraray, Inverbervie, Inverkeithing, Inverness, Irvine, Jedburgh, Kinghorn, Kilrenny, Kirkcaldy, Kirkcudbright, Kirkwall, Lanark, Lauder, Linlithgow, Montrose, Nairn, North Berwick, Peebles, Pittenweem, Perth, Queensferry, Renfrew, Rothesay, Rutherglen, St. Andrews, Selkirk, Stirling,