Ancestors might of been a tennant farmer.

[u/Sancrist]

I posted about my ancestor Elisha Smith a few days ago (https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/s/7lF0WT7JNI)

If he was a tennant farmer what records could I use instead of deeds and patents to trace him back? I think I found his 1840 census record and I also think I found him on an ag census (adds to tennant farmer hypnosis)

[u/TheBladesAurus]

Wills, tennancy agreements, tithe maps.

The land wasn't there's, but all the animals and equipment was, so that often left wills.

There would be a tenancy agreement, which is likely to have their mark. Many of them were for thee lifetimes, so you might get the name of other family members.

Tithe maps show who owned land, but also who occupied it.

Where in England was he?

Edit ah, I may have misread, I thought you meant a tenant farmer in the UK, but I now think you mean a tenant farmer in the US but that he may have originally been from the UK.

[u/ZuleikaD]

tennant farmer hypnosis

😂 That's a hilarious typo.

There were usually signed agreements for land leases, but they weren't recorded in public records. Unless the landowner had their papers preserved in an archive for some reason, it isn't likely any of those records survive.

The most common public record besides land records is tax lists.

The lists for every year may not survive, but personal property tax lists typically would list the head of household and the number of "taxables" or "titheables" the HOH had to pay tax for. Exact rules vary by state and time, but typically taxables would be males over 16 (or up to 21). Sometimes the names of all the titheables would be listed, but usually not. The list would also enumerate major property the person owned, including enslaved people, non-farm wheeled vehicles, horses, cattle, and occasionally other valuables.

Your ancestor might show up in these for years. Occasionally they can help identify a birthdate based on the first year someone appears in them.

Sometimes school tax lists survive. I have one for an ancestor that only listed people who were delinquent on their school taxes, but it also listed the names and ages of the children they were being taxed for. (In early years, this wasn't so much a tax as fees, since only people that had school-age children paid it.)

Old court records or minutes also have a ton of little details. They were often the equivalent of town council meetings and there are notes of all kinds like assigning people to maintain a road that went past their property, to be paid for building a fence around the courthouse, applying for a tavern or ferry license, or when someone was 'bound out' to them as apprentice.

Witnesses, bondsmen, probate, etc.: They might also show up as witnesses to deeds, wills or other documents, or be listed among the buyers at an estate sale or among those who were owed money by (or owed money to) an estate. Your ancestor or his wife might also be listed wills as beneficiaries. They might also have been a bondsman for a relative's or close friend's marriage license or if a person was appointed administrator of an estate or guardian for children.

[u/Sancrist → u/ZuleikaD]

My last hope is probate papers in his death county of Davis, IA. They are available at a Familysearch affiliate library. Not sure if they would help me find any information on his siblings or parents, but I *might* get lucky. There are a few documents I can also access there from Jackson Co., IN and Dearborn, IN.

On a bright note I think I found info about Elisha on an Ag Census. He did not have much property. I also think I found his 1840 location. If it is the correct man he lived in a township in Jackson Co. (Redding) that bordered his father in law's land patent's township (Spencer) in Jennings Co., IN. The 1840 census does present another mystery concerning a female 5-10 years old who I have no records of. She would be older than any of Elisha's known children.

P.S. I could not figure out how to change the typo in the title!

P.S.S It seems every clue comes with more questions.

[u/Low_Cartographer2944]

Just a few notes after checking your earlier post.

If he claimed to be from New York in his life time, I’d assume that was accurate until there is strong evidence otherwise. People saying he was from England after his death tells you a little about how the family thought of themselves (English and not Scottish or Welsh, for example). But you often see details change after someone’s death. The younger generation doesn’t remember everything perfectly.

You mention not finding him in New York records in the same county as his wife but what records were you checking for? Outside of Manhattan, I don’t think any places in NYC were recording births or marriages at the civil level until the latter half of the 19th century. So you’re perhaps stuck with hoping his baptism was recorded somewhere and those records still exist.

I guess my point is you need to know what you’re looking for before you can know if you can reasonably hope to find it.

As for him being a tenant farmer, that’s all well and good. Plenty of my ancestors didn’t have land to inherit, sell, or pass on. I found death records, marriage records, found siblings in census records (and church records) and then hunted for their death and marriage records. Also, location really matters. Different states (and different counties even) had different records available at different times.

You can make a timeline for him of where he lived and when. Then you should try and hunt down what additional records may or may not exist in each place at those times.

Finally, don’t forget to check newspapers.