Does anyone on the list know anything about how "smokes" are taxed? I am trying to decipher Grand List records from Stonington, Connecticut (1790-1803) and have had some trouble understanding/interpreting the difference between 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rate smokes. Does this rate base reflect the size or condition of a particular house? Most individuals are being taxed on 3rd or 4th rate smokes. Occasionally I see a 2nd rate smoke and rarely a 1st rate smoke. Under each of these rates is the number of smokes being taxed (usually between 1 and 3, but I have seen some as high as 7 to 12 and one at 20). For the purpose of this discussion, the OED defines smoke as "the smoke arising from a particular hearth or fireplace; hence, a hearth, fire-place, house." If I take the number of smokes as the number of fireplaces/hearths, then why do I so commonly see annual fluctuations in the number of smokes at a particular dwelling? For example, 2 - 4th rate smokes in 1790, 1- 4th rate smoke in 1791, 2 - 4th rate smokes in 1792, etc. I am puzzled why this number is sometimes so erratic from year to year. Given the sensitivity to taxation around this time, I wouldn't think this is attributable to the whim of the assessor. Can anyone explain this? Also what would cause a dwelling to be assessed as 3rd rate one year, 4th rate the following two years, 3rd rate for the next three years, and 4th rate after that? I hope this is not too confusing and I would be happy to clarify my questions/concerns to interested persons. Thank you. Jason Jason R. Mancini, Senior Researcher Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center 110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, CT 06338 tel. (860) 396-6802 fax (860) 396-6914 [log in to unmask]